U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, DC -- Barely half of Americans approve of how the United States Supreme Court (USSC) is doing its job, according to a recent opinion poll released the day after the Court's fall session began. According to the results of the annual mid-September Governance poll released today by Gallup News Service (GNS), the Supreme Court held its 51% approval rating achieved in spring but fell year-on-year from last year's 60%. The figure swings in response to the USSC's ruling on big issues, the summary states. Other public attitudes toward the USSC closely track political affiliation, the poll discovered. About one-third of respondents said the court was too conservative compared to one-fifth who said too liberal, while the largest percentage (43%) said it was about right. "Democrats are much more likely to perceive the current court as too conservative (47%) than Republicans are to say it is too liberal (26%)," wrote Joseph Carroll of GNS. At the same time, a majority of Republicans (58%) say the USSC is about right compared to a significant minority (31%) of Democrats who say the same. Most Independents also agreed with the court's political balance, Gallup found.