Marquette Law School Supreme Court Poll July 7-12, 2023

Court Items Only

(Percentages are rounded to whole numbers for reporting of results. Frequencies have been rounded to whole numbers but percentages are calculated based on non-integer weighted sample sizes.)

Results for survey items among all respondents are presented here (unless otherwise indicated). Please note that some questions are only asked of particular groups of respondents. In these instances, the row “NA’s” includes the number and percent of total respondents omitted from the question. These omitted cases are ignored when calculating the “Valid” and “Cumulative” percent columns.

B2: Supreme Court approval

Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the US Supreme Court is handling its job?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Strongly approve 134 13 13 13
Somewhat approve 315 31 31 45
Somewhat disapprove 302 30 30 75
Strongly disapprove 254 25 25 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0 100

B2: Supreme Court approval, 2-cat

Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the US Supreme Court is handling its job?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Approve 449 45 45 45
Disapprove 555 55 55 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0 100

C1: Confidence in SCOTUS

[The US Supreme Court] Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A great deal 106 11 11 11
Quite a lot 207 21 21 31
Some 321 32 32 63
Very little 226 22 22 86
None at all 144 14 14 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0 100

C6: Justice nomination majority

What is your guess as to whether a majority of the current US Supreme Court Justices were appointed by Democratic or Republican presidents?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Definitely a majority appointed by Democratic presidents 47 5 5 5
Probably a majority appointed by Democratic presidents 172 17 17 22
Probably a majority appointed by Republican presidents 419 42 42 63
Definitely a majority appointed by Republican presidents 365 36 36 100
Skipped/Ref 2 0 0 100

C17: Heard about affirmative action case

[A Supreme Court case concerning the use of race in college admissions] Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A lot 511 51 51 51
A little 312 31 31 82
Nothing at all 180 18 18 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0 100

C19: Heard about Alito finance disclosures

[News stories about Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s financial disclosure reports] Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A lot 155 15 15 15
A little 335 33 33 49
Nothing at all 515 51 51 100

C20: Heard about Alabama district case

[A Supreme Court case concerning congressional districts in Alabama] Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A lot 102 10 10 10
A little 361 36 36 46
Nothing at all 541 54 54 100

C21: Heard about student loan case

[A Supreme Court case concerning student loan forgiveness] Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A lot 559 56 56 56
A little 379 38 38 93
Nothing at all 67 7 7 100

C22: Heard about independent legislature case

[A Supreme Court case concerning the powers of state legislatures to set the rules for federal elections for congress and president] Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
A lot 168 17 17 17
A little 458 46 46 62
Nothing at all 379 38 38 100

D1: SCOTUS ideology

[The US Supreme Court] In general, would you describe each of the following as…?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Very conservative 271 27 27 27
Somewhat conservative 350 35 35 62
Moderate 277 28 28 89
Somewhat liberal 74 7 7 97
Very liberal 31 3 3 100
Skipped/Ref 2 0 0 100

D7: SCOTUS ideology trend

Over the past 15 years or so would you say the Supreme Court has generally become…?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Much more conservative 287 29 29 29
Somewhat more conservative 337 33 33 62
Hasn't changed much 228 23 23 85
Somewhat more liberal 113 11 11 96
Much more liberal 39 4 4 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0 100

D8: Justice motivations

In general, what most often motivates Supreme Court justices’ decisions?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Mainly politics 586 58 58 58
Mainly the law 418 42 42 100
Skipped/Ref 0 0 0 100

D9: Should justices consider public opinion

Should justices of the Supreme Court consider public opinion about a case when making decisions or should they ignore public opinion?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Should consider public opinion 500 50 50 50
Should ignore public opinion 504 50 50 100
Skipped/Ref 1 0 0