Photo by: zz/STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2021 10/2/21 General views of the United States Supreme Court Building located at 1 First Street in Northeast Washington, D.C. on October 2, 2021. The building and grounds were closed to the general public on this date as a precaution and safety measure during the Women’s March Rally For Abortion Justice. Demonstrators assembled at Freedom Plaza and marched to Supreme Court Plaza. In addition to generally supporting a woman’s right to choose and the Pro-Choice Abortion Rights Movement, this demonstration is in direct response to the near-total ban on abortions in Texas which became law on September 1st 2021. (Washington, District of Columbia, USA)

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Mandy Taheri

By Mandy Taheri

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Over 40 percent of Americans, an all-time high, say the U.S. Supreme Court is “too conservative,” according to a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday.

Why It Matters

The Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority and has ruled in favor of the Trump administration on many key issues, including immigration enforcement and cuts at federal government agencies. Over a dozen emergency requests from the Trump administration have been granted by the Court this term.

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Despite the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, the justices ruled unanimously in 42 percent of cases decided last term. In 2023, they ruled unanimously in 44 percent of cases, and in 2022, the rate was 50 percent.

The poll comes as approval of the Supreme Court has slipped in recent years: Forty-two percent of Americans approve of the Court’s performance, down from 62 percent in 2000, according to Gallup. Trust in the Court has also fallen in recent years, with the lowest recorded by Gallup in 2022 at 47 percent.

What To Know

A new Gallup poll found that 43 percent of participants think the current Supreme Court is “too conservative,” which, by one percentage point, is the highest the poll has measured. Thirty-six percent of participants believe the court is “about right,” and 17 percent said it’s “too liberal.”

The poll of 1,000 Americans was conducted between September 2 and 16, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Public opinion of the court has shifted significantly in recent years. Before October 2020, when Justice Amy Coney Barrett replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, no more than a third of Americans said the court was “too conservative.” In a poll taken the following year, 37 percent described the court in that way.

The biggest jump came after the court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion-rights ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

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What People Are Saying

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library earlier this month: "A democracy requires compromise. We can't govern ourselves if we're not willing to compromise and meet in the middle. Moreover, you know, we're all in this together, and if we have a winner takes all approach, where you just want to crush the enemy, if you regard people who disagree with you as the enemy, we can't constructively move forward as a society."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at Washington University in St. Louis, earlier this month: "I go into my rooms, especially the one I work at, and I listen to people I disagree with...I remind myself constantly of my mother saying there's good in every person, in every person with whom I disagree."

What Happens Next

The Supreme Court will hear its first argument in the new session on Monday, October 6.

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