More than 75% of each partisan group say a president must obey Supreme Court orders
Also:
- Opinion is close to evenly split on whether the Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling President Trump might disobey
- Opinion is evenly divided on approval of the overall work of the Supreme Court
- Very large partisan gap on approval of the Court’s work
MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds a large majority—84% —of the public believes that a president must obey a ruling of the United States Supreme Court, while 16% say the president has the power to ignore a Court ruling. Despite this belief in the authority of the Court, 55% believe the Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling that President Donald Trump might refuse to obey, while 45% percent say the Court is not going out of its way to avoid ruling against the president.
More than three quarters of Republicans, independents, and Democrats each say that the president must obey a Supreme Court ruling, including 80% of Republicans, as shown in Table 1. In eight Marquette polls since 2019 that have asked this question, no partisan group has ever fallen below 70% in saying the president must obey the Court. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)
Table 1: President must obey the Supreme Court, by party identification
Among adults
| Party ID | Must obey Court | |
| The president has the power to ignore the ruling | The president is required to do as the ruling says | |
| Republican | 20 | 80 |
| Independent | 23 | 77 |
| Democrat | 8 | 92 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: If the Supreme Court rules against the president in a case, does the president have the power to ignore that ruling, or is the president required to do as the ruling says? | ||
The survey was conducted Sept. 15-24, 2025, interviewing 1,043 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.
A majority of Republicans, 69%, say the Court is not going out of its way to avoid ruling against Trump, while 58% of independents and 81% of Democrats say the Court is doing so.
Fifty-six percent of respondents say the decisions of the justices are based mainly on politics, while 44% say decisions are based mainly on the law. When this question was first asked in Marquette polling in 2019, 35% said justices were motivated mostly by politics, a figure that remained below 40% until January 2022. Since July 2023, in all 14 Marquette polls, 50% or more have said politics is the main motivation for decisions.
Those who think decisions are more political are more likely to say the Court is trying to avoid conflict with the president, and this relationship holds within each partisan group, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Court going out of way to avoid making a ruling president might disobey, by opinions on whether decisions mainly political or legal, by party ID
Among adults
| Mainly politics or law | Avoiding ruling against Trump | |
| Is going out of its way to avoid | Is not avoiding a ruling | |
| Republican | ||
| Mainly politics | 46 | 54 |
| Mainly the law | 21 | 79 |
| Independent | ||
| Mainly politics | 69 | 31 |
| Mainly the law | 38 | 62 |
| Democrat | ||
| Mainly politics | 85 | 15 |
| Mainly the law | 70 | 30 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: Do you think the U.S. Supreme Court is going out of its way to avoid making a ruling that President Donald Trump might refuse to obey? | ||
| Question: In general, what most often motivates Supreme Court justices’ decisions? | ||
While the public strongly believes in the authority of the Supreme Court to rule against a president, people also think federal district courts have considerable power over presidents. Sixty-four percent say the president does not have more authority to ignore federal district court orders than rulings of the Supreme Court, while 36% say the president does have more authority concerning district court orders.
Those who think the president can ignore Supreme Court rulings are also more likely to say the president has additional authority to ignore orders of lower courts. Even among those who believe the president must obey the Supreme Court, 29% say there is more authority to ignore district courts. Table 3 presents this relationship.
Table 3: More able to ignore district court, by must obey Supreme Court
Among adults
| Must obey Supreme Court | More able to ignore district court | |
| Has more authority to ignore | Does not have more authority to ignore | |
| The president has the power to ignore the ruling | 70 | 30 |
| The president is required to do as the ruling says | 29 | 71 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: Does the president have more authority to ignore an order of a federal district court than a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court? | ||
| Question: If the Supreme Court rules against the president in a case, does the president have the power to ignore that ruling, or is the president required to do as the ruling says? | ||
District courts have issued a number of orders blocking executive actions since January. Sixty-seven percent of respondents in this poll say such orders are a proper use of judicial authority, while 33% say such orders are not proper. Republicans are evenly split on this question, while more than two-thirds of independents and more than 85% of Democrats say such orders are proper for courts to hand down. This relationship is shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Proper for courts to block executive orders, by party identification
Among adults
| Party ID | Proper for courts to block executive orders | |
| Yes | No | |
| Republican | 49 | 51 |
| Independent | 68 | 32 |
| Democrat | 86 | 14 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: Federal courts have issued orders temporarily blocking a number of the Trump administration’s executive actions. Do you think such orders can be a proper use of judicial authority? | ||
Approval of the Court
Approval of how the Supreme Court is handling its job is evenly divided, with 50% of the public approving and 50% disapproving. In July, 49% approved and 51% disapproved. Approval was between 39% and 48% throughout 2024 and has ranged from 49% to 54% so far in 2025, as shown in Table 5.
Table 5: United States Supreme Court approval
Among adults
| Poll dates | Approval | ||
| Net | Approve | Disapprove | |
| 9/15-24/25 | 0 | 50 | 50 |
| 7/7-16/25 | -2 | 49 | 51 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 6 | 53 | 47 |
| 3/17-27/25 | 8 | 54 | 46 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | 2 | 51 | 49 |
| 12/2-11/24 | -4 | 48 | 52 |
| 10/1-10/24 | -10 | 45 | 55 |
| 7/24-8/1/24 | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| 5/6-15/24 | -22 | 39 | 61 |
| 3/18-28/24 | -6 | 47 | 53 |
| 2/5-15/24 | -20 | 40 | 60 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job? | |||
There are substantial partisan differences in views of the Supreme Court, with Republicans much more approving (81%) than independents (43%) or Democrats (19%). The trend in approval by party identification is shown in Table 6. Republicans have generally become more positive toward the Court since early 2024, while Democrats have generally become more negative. Independents have held consistently negative views of the Court, though they have become less negative over the last two years.
Table 6: United States Supreme Court approval, by party ID
Among adults
| Poll dates | Approval | ||
| Net | Approve | Disapprove | |
| Republican | |||
| 9/15-24/25 | 62 | 81 | 19 |
| 7/7-16/25 | 62 | 81 | 19 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 56 | 78 | 22 |
| 3/17-27/25 | 58 | 79 | 21 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | 68 | 84 | 16 |
| 12/2-11/24 | 48 | 74 | 26 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 36 | 68 | 32 |
| 7/24-8/1/24 | 34 | 67 | 33 |
| 5/6-15/24 | 14 | 57 | 43 |
| 3/18-28/24 | 28 | 64 | 36 |
| Independent | |||
| 9/15-24/25 | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| 7/7-16/25 | -10 | 45 | 55 |
| 5/5-15/25 | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| 3/17-27/25 | -10 | 45 | 55 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| 12/2-11/24 | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| 10/1-10/24 | -18 | 41 | 59 |
| 7/24-8/1/24 | -22 | 39 | 61 |
| 5/6-15/24 | -48 | 26 | 74 |
| 3/18-28/24 | -24 | 38 | 62 |
| Democrat | |||
| 9/15-24/25 | -62 | 19 | 81 |
| 7/7-16/25 | -64 | 18 | 82 |
| 5/5-15/25 | -38 | 31 | 69 |
| 3/17-27/25 | -38 | 31 | 69 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | -62 | 19 | 81 |
| 12/2-11/24 | -58 | 21 | 79 |
| 10/1-10/24 | -54 | 23 | 77 |
| 7/24-8/1/24 | -58 | 21 | 79 |
| 5/6-15/24 | -54 | 23 | 77 |
| 3/18-28/24 | -38 | 31 | 69 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job? | |||
Twenty-two percent say they have heard or read a lot about the Court over the last month, 61% have heard a little, and 18% have heard nothing at all. Attention is down from July, following the late-June flurry of major decisions, when 34% had heard a lot about the court. Table 7 shows the attention cycle over the last year, peaking in the summer and declining in fall and winter.
Table 7: Attention to news about the Supreme Court
Among adults
| Poll dates | Hear or read about the Court | ||
| A lot | A little | Nothing at all | |
| 9/15-24/25 | 22 | 61 | 18 |
| 7/7-16/25 | 34 | 51 | 15 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 25 | 60 | 15 |
| 3/17-27/25 | 25 | 63 | 12 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | 17 | 68 | 14 |
| 12/2-11/24 | 17 | 64 | 18 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 19 | 61 | 20 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court? | |||
Those who hear more news about the Court tend more to be disapproving, while the group of those who have heard the least is most approving, as shown in Table 8.
Table 8: Approval, by attention to news about the Supreme Court
Among adults
| Heard about Court | Approval | |
| Approve | Disapprove | |
| A lot | 35 | 65 |
| A little | 52 | 48 |
| Nothing at all | 62 | 38 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job? | ||
| Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court? | ||
There are modest partisan differences in attention to news about the Court, with 16% of Republicans who heard a lot, compared to 19% of independents and 29% of Democrats. Among independents and Democrats, those who hear less are more approving than those who hear more. For Republicans, who are strongly approving regardless of attention, the pattern is inconsistent. These results are shown in Table 9.
Table 9: Attention to news and approval of the Court, by party ID
Among adults
| Heard about Court | Approval | ||
| Net | Approve | Disapprove | |
| Republican | |||
| A lot | 54 | 77 | 23 |
| A little | 70 | 85 | 15 |
| Nothing at all | 46 | 73 | 27 |
| Independent | |||
| A lot | -48 | 26 | 74 |
| A little | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| Nothing at all | 14 | 57 | 43 |
| Democrat | |||
| A lot | -76 | 12 | 88 |
| A little | -64 | 18 | 82 |
| Nothing at all | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job? | |||
| Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court? | |||
Favorability to Chief Justice Roberts
In keeping with the generally low attention to news about the Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., is unfamiliar to 55%, who say they haven’t heard enough about him to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion. The question did not identify Roberts as the Chief Justice but presented his name in a list along with political leaders. Roberts is viewed favorably by 17% and unfavorably by 28%. Republicans are less familiar with Roberts than are Democrats, though on balance Republicans are favorable, while Democrats and independents are unfavorable, as shown in Table 10.
Table 10: Favorability to John G. Roberts, Jr., by party identification
Among adults
| Party ID | Favorability | ||
| Favorable | Unfavorable | Haven’t heard enough | |
| Republican | 28 | 13 | 59 |
| Independent | 10 | 34 | 55 |
| Democrat | 7 | 43 | 50 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: [John G. Roberts, Jr.] Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion? | |||
Roberts is viewed positively by respondents who identify themselves as either very or somewhat conservative, and is viewed unfavorably by self-described moderates and those who are somewhat or very liberal. There is modest variation in familiarity with Roberts by ideological identification, with between 49% and 58% saying they haven’t heard enough to have an opinion. This relationship is shown in Table 11.
Table 11: Favorability to John G. Roberts, Jr., by ideological identification
Among adults
| Ideological identification | Favorability | ||
| Favorable | Unfavorable | Haven’t heard enough | |
| Very conservative | 30 | 18 | 52 |
| Somewhat conservative | 30 | 11 | 58 |
| Moderate | 10 | 34 | 57 |
| Somewhat liberal | 7 | 42 | 52 |
| Very liberal | 5 | 46 | 49 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||
| Question: [John G. Roberts, Jr.] Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion? | |||
| Question: Generally speaking, how would you describe your political views? | |||
Upcoming cases before the Court
As the Court begins its new term on Oct. 6, it has a number of cases set for argument. In one case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held the president’s power to impose tariffs on imports to be substantially more limited than the government has maintained. Asked whether the Supreme Court should uphold this limitation on presidential power, 61% say the decision should be upheld, while 39% say the decision should be overturned. Republicans are strongly in favor of overturning this ruling, 69%, while 75% of independents and 88% of Democrats want the ruling upheld.
Opinion about this case is also related to beliefs about whether tariffs help or hurt the economy. Within each partisan category, those who think tariffs help the economy are more in favor of overturning the appeals court decision, while those who think tariffs hurt the economy are more likely to want the Supreme Court to uphold the limits on presidential authority, as shown in Table 12.
Table 12: Limiting president’s tariff power, by economic effect of tariffs and by party ID
Among adults
| Economic impact of tariffs | Uphold or overturn limits on tariff power | |
| Uphold the appeals court ruling that limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs | Overturn the appeals court ruling and hold that the President has the authority to set tariffs | |
| Republican | ||
| Helps U.S. economy | 12 | 88 |
| Doesn’t make much difference | 37 | 63 |
| Hurts U.S. economy | 70 | 30 |
| Independent | ||
| Helps U.S. economy | 37 | 63 |
| Doesn’t make much difference | 62 | 38 |
| Hurts U.S. economy | 85 | 15 |
| Democrat | ||
| Helps U.S. economy | 44 | 56 |
| Doesn’t make much difference | 56 | 44 |
| Hurts U.S. economy | 93 | 6 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that substantially limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs on imports to the United States. This decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule? | ||
| Question: In general, do you think imposing tariffs or fees on products imported from other countries helps the U.S. economy, hurts the economy, or doesn’t make much of a difference either way? | ||
Another appeals court ruled that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. Fifty-six percent say the Supreme Court should uphold this ruling, and 44% think it should overturn the appeals court decision. A majority of Republicans, 77%, think the appeals court ruling should be overturned, while majorities of independents, 68%, and Democrats, 86%, think it should be upheld.
Seventy-six percent of those who approve of how Trump is handling immigration favor overturning the appeals court ruling, while those who disapprove of Trump’s immigration policies strongly favor upholding the ruling, 82%. This relationship remains strong within categories of partisanship, as shown in Table 13.
Table 13: Hold president lacked authority under the Alien Enemies Act to order certain deportations, by approval of Trump on immigration and by party ID
Among adults
| Trump approval on immigration | Uphold or overturn limits on deportation authority | |
| Uphold the appeals court ruling that the president exceeded his authority | Overturn the appeals court ruling and hold that the president can invoke the Alien Enemies Act | |
| Republican | ||
| Approve | 13 | 87 |
| Disapprove | 66 | 34 |
| Independent | ||
| Approve | 60 | 40 |
| Disapprove | 71 | 29 |
| Democrat | ||
| Approve | 61 | 39 |
| Disapprove | 90 | 10 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. This decision is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule? | ||
| Question: [Immigration] Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling each of the following issues? | ||
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. Sixty-two percent think the Court should rule these laws are constitutional, while 38% think the Court should rule the laws are unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection.
Majorities of Republicans, 81%, and independents, 57%, think the Court should uphold these laws, while a majority of Democrats, 56%, think they should be struck down.
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights laws protect gay and transgender workers from job discrimination, a ruling that is favored by 79% and opposed by 21%. A majority of those favoring the anti-job-discrimination ruling nonetheless favor upholding state bans on transgender girls and women participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams, 60%. A larger percentage, 71%, of those opposed to the anti-discrimination ruling favor upholding the state bans.
The Court has scheduled arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander or whether it is properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Forty-eight percent say the Court should rule this is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, while 52% say it is properly required by the Voting Rights Act.
There is a partisan divide in views of this case, with 64% of Republicans saying the creation of a Black district is unconstitutional. A small majority of independents, 55%, think it is proper under the Voting Rights Act, as do a larger majority of Democrats, 68%.
There are differences of opinion by race and ethnicity on this issue as well, as shown in Table 14. A small majority of white respondents say creating Black majority districts is racial gerrymandering, while majorities of Black and Hispanic respondents say the districts are required by the Voting Rights Act. Those of other or multiple races are evenly divided.
Table 14: Creation of Black-majority districts, by race and ethnicity
Among adults
| Race and ethnicity | Creation of Black-majority districts | |
| The creation of a second majority-Black district is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander | The second majority-Black district is required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 | |
| White | 54 | 46 |
| Black | 32 | 68 |
| Hispanic | 40 | 60 |
| Other/Multiple | 49 | 51 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||
| Question: The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, or whether, instead, it was properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule? | ||
Confidence in institutions
Confidence in several institutions is summarized in Table 15. The police have the highest net (high confidence minus low confidence) ratings, followed at some distance by the FBI. The Federal Reserve Board has a slightly positive net rating, while the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Justice are mildly negative. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a substantially net negative rating.
Table 15: Confidence in institutions
Among adults
| Institution | Confidence | |||
| Net high-low | Great deal/quite a lot | Some | Very little/None at all | |
| The police | 25 | 45 | 35 | 20 |
| The FBI | 6 | 35 | 36 | 29 |
| The Federal Reserve Board | 2 | 29 | 45 | 26 |
| Centers for Disease Control (CDC) | -7 | 28 | 37 | 35 |
| The U.S. Department of Justice | -8 | 27 | 38 | 35 |
| Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) | -17 | 31 | 22 | 47 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||||
| Question: Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one? | ||||
Confidence in the Federal Reserve Board, the CDC, and ICE has not been asked in previous Marquette polls, while questions about the police, FBI, and Department of Justice allow comparisons over time.
Confidence in the police has remained quite positive since 2020, with small fluctuations, as shown in Table 16.
Table 16: Confidence in the police
Among adults
| Poll dates | Confidence | |||
| Net high-low | Great deal/quite a lot | Some | Very little/None at all | |
| 9/8-15/20 | 30 | 49 | 32 | 19 |
| 9/7-14/22 | 31 | 51 | 28 | 20 |
| 11/15-22/22 | 27 | 48 | 30 | 21 |
| 1/9-20/23 | 29 | 50 | 29 | 21 |
| 3/13-22/23 | 21 | 44 | 33 | 23 |
| 9/15-24/25 | 25 | 45 | 35 | 20 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||||
| Question: [The police] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one? | ||||
Confidence in the FBI is slightly higher than in January 2025, though lower than from September 2022 to January 2023, as shown in Table 17.
Table 17: Confidence in the FBI
Among adults
| Poll dates | Confidence | |||
| Net high-low | Great deal/quite a lot | Some | Very little/None at all | |
| 9/7-14/22 | 18 | 44 | 30 | 26 |
| 11/15-22/22 | 12 | 39 | 34 | 27 |
| 1/9-20/23 | 11 | 39 | 32 | 28 |
| 3/13-22/23 | 3 | 34 | 35 | 31 |
| 12/2-11/24 | 2 | 32 | 38 | 30 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | -1 | 29 | 42 | 30 |
| 9/15-24/25 | 6 | 35 | 36 | 29 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||||
| Question: [The FBI] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one? | ||||
Confidence in the U.S. Department of Justice has been consistently net negative since 2023, and is slightly less negative than in January 2025, as shown in Table 18.
Table 18: Confidence in the U.S. Department of Justice
Among adults
| Poll dates | Confidence | |||
| Net high-low | Great deal/quite a lot | Some | Very little/None at all | |
| 7/7-12/23 | -16 | 25 | 34 | 41 |
| 9/18-25/23 | -5 | 30 | 35 | 35 |
| 11/2-7/23 | -8 | 27 | 38 | 35 |
| 2/5-15/24 | -13 | 25 | 36 | 38 |
| 3/18-28/24 | -9 | 27 | 37 | 36 |
| 5/6-15/24 | -15 | 23 | 39 | 38 |
| 12/2-11/24 | -10 | 24 | 41 | 34 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | -14 | 22 | 41 | 36 |
| 9/15-24/25 | -8 | 27 | 38 | 35 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | ||||
| Question: [The U.S. Department of Justice] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one? | ||||
Perceived ideological leaning of the Court
In September, 22% say they would describe the Supreme Court as “very conservative,” 38% would describe it as “somewhat conservative,” 32% would call the Court “moderate,” 7% see the Court as “somewhat liberal,” and 2% believe it is “very liberal.”
Views of the Court have shifted to the right since 2019, with fewer seeing the Court as moderate and more as conservative or very conservative, as shown in Table 19. The shift in perceptions is most apparent in May and July 2022, around the time of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs Wade.
Table 19: Perceived ideological leaning of the Court, 2019-2025
Among adults
| Poll dates | Perceived ideology | ||||
| Very conservative | Somewhat conservative | Moderate | Somewhat liberal | Very liberal | |
| 9/15-24/25 | 22 | 38 | 32 | 7 | 2 |
| 7/7-16/25 | 25 | 37 | 27 | 8 | 3 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 24 | 35 | 32 | 7 | 2 |
| 7/24-8/1/24 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 7 | 3 |
| 5/6-15/24 | 25 | 32 | 31 | 10 | 2 |
| 3/18-28/24 | 25 | 32 | 33 | 8 | 3 |
| 2/5-15/24 | 21 | 34 | 33 | 7 | 5 |
| 11/2-7/23 | 21 | 35 | 32 | 7 | 5 |
| 9/18-25/23 | 20 | 37 | 32 | 7 | 3 |
| 7/7-12/23 | 27 | 35 | 28 | 7 | 3 |
| 5/8-18/23 | 24 | 33 | 30 | 10 | 3 |
| 3/13-22/23 | 23 | 35 | 34 | 6 | 2 |
| 1/9-20/23 | 22 | 37 | 31 | 8 | 2 |
| 11/15-22/22 | 25 | 36 | 32 | 6 | 2 |
| 9/7-14/22 | 29 | 35 | 27 | 5 | 3 |
| 7/5-12/22 | 34 | 33 | 21 | 7 | 3 |
| 5/9-19/22 | 23 | 33 | 34 | 8 | 2 |
| 3/14-24/22 | 15 | 37 | 36 | 10 | 2 |
| 1/10-21/22 | 17 | 38 | 35 | 8 | 2 |
| 11/1-10/21 | 15 | 35 | 39 | 8 | 1 |
| 9/7-16/21 | 16 | 35 | 40 | 7 | 2 |
| 7/16-26/21 | 13 | 37 | 42 | 6 | 1 |
| 9/8-15/20 | 5 | 30 | 54 | 9 | 2 |
| 9/3-13/19 | 5 | 33 | 50 | 9 | 3 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Sept. 15-24, 2025 | |||||
| Question: In general, would you describe each of the following… The U.S. Supreme Court | |||||
About the Marquette Law School Poll
The survey was conducted Sept. 15-24, 2025, interviewing 1,043 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.
Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample with interviews conducted online. Certain other data from this survey (focusing on views of the Trump administration and policy issues) were released previously, on October 1. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.
Wording of questions about recent and pending Supreme Court cases
These items do not attempt to exactly frame the particular issues in specific cases but rather address the topic in more general terms.
The wording of questions about cases includes:
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia
- In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
Louisiana v. Callais
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case asking whether the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, or whether, instead, it was properly required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Learning Resources v. Trump
- A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that substantially limits the president’s authority to impose tariffs on imports to the United States. This decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
W.M.M. v. Trump, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- A federal appeals court has issued a ruling that the president exceeded his authority under the Alien Enemies Act in ordering the deportation of some Venezuelans in the U.S. illegally. This decision is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.