Days after high-profile rulings, SCOTUS approval at new low
Just days after the Supreme Court ruled on several high-profile cases, including Prop. 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, public approval for the nation’s highest court has fallen to a notable low, according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday.
Just 28 percent of Americans believe the Supreme Court is doing a good or excellent job, compared with 30 percent who believe its performance is poor. Positive ratings increased among liberal voters by 13 points, but fell by eight points among conservatives and seven among moderates.
Section 3 of DOMA, which forbids the federal government from recognizing legal marriages, was struck down on June 26. The Proposition 8 case, regarding a voter-passed measure that repealed marriage equality in California, was dismissed the same day. The court also recently ruled on several other landmark cases, includng Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (a challenge to the university’s race-conscious admissions policies) and Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder (on voting rights and discrimination).
Four years ago, about half of Americans (48 percent) believed the court was doing a good or excellent job. Today, about four in 10 Americans say the court is too liberal; a quarter of Americans say it’s too conservative.
Rasmussen’s findings came out the same day USA Today released a poll showing 55 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. According to the poll, Republicans (68 percent) and seniors 65 and older (51 percent) are the only masjor demographic segments who oppose same-sex marriage.
The poll also found that 48 percent of respondents favor the Supreme Court’s decision to declare DOMA unconsititutional, compared with 43 percent who disagree.
The Rasmussen poll sampled 1,000 likely voters on June 28 and 29. Rasmussen has been polling approval of the Supreme Court for nearly a decade. The USA Today poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates among 1,003 adults from June 27 to 30.
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