MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey found that 60% of adults polled disapprove of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, and 40% approve.
The latest survey was conducted from Sept. 7 through Sept. 14 and interviewed 1,448 adults nationwide. The poll, released Wednesday, shows a "large decline" of approval of the Court since 2020 and early 2021 findings. In July, 38% approved and 61% disapproved.
Approval slipped in September 2021 and again after the leaked opinion in May 2022 of Roe v. Wade, followed by the June decision to overturn the right to have an abortion in the U.S. The public continues to oppose the June decision 61%, whereas 30% of those polled favor the ruling and 10% say they lack an opinion.
Also in June, the Court decided the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a gun outside the home. Of those surveyed, 38% supported the decision, 29% opposed, and 33% lacked an opinion.
In September 2020, 44%of polled adults said the Court should consider the public's opinion in reaching its decisions, and 55% said it should not. Two years later, the latest survey shows those polled think the Court needs to pay more attention with 61% saying public opinion should be considered and 39% saying it should not.
According to Marquette University, in two weeks the U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases on whether race may be considered in college admissions and whether religious beliefs afford a basis in the law for businesses to deny some services to LGBTQ customers. Marquette's latest poll shows 37% are in favor of banning the use of race and 13% are opposed to a ban. However, 50% say they haven't heard anything about the case or not enough to have an opinion. Meanwhile, 35% oppose a decision allowing a business to refuse service to LGBT customers, 21% favor it, and 44% have not heard enough.
As for the perceptions of the ideology of the Court, 64% believe the Court is very conservative or conservative in September 2022, compared to 38% in September 2019. In 2019, 50% saw the Court as moderate, but this has since decreased to 27% in 2022.
You can view the latest Marquette poll on the university's website.
