Marquette Law School: National survey finds U.S. Supreme Court job approval by public continues in low 40s

MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 41% of adults approve of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, while 59% disapprove. In September, 43% approved and 57% disapproved. Approval of the Court has remained below 50% since March 2022, when it stood at 54%. While approval is up from the low point of 38% in July 2022, it has fluctuated in the low 40s percent range since then. The poll was completed before the Court released a Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States on November 13, 2023.

The trend in approval since 2020 is shown in Figure 1 and Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages; the precise wording of the questions can be found in the online link noted above.)

Figure 1: Supreme Court job approval

Table 1: Supreme Court job approval

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
Approve	Disapprove
11/2-7/23	41	59
9/18-25/23	43	57
7/7-12/23	45	55
5/8-18/23	41	59
3/13-22/23	44	56
1/9-20/23	47	53
11/15-22/22	44	56
9/7-14/22	40	60
7/5-12/22	38	61
5/9-19/22	44	55
3/14-24/22	54	45
1/10-21/22	52	46
11/1-10/21	54	46
9/7-16/21	49	50
7/16-26/21	60	39
9/8-15/20	66	33
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

The latest Marquette Law School Poll’s national Supreme Court survey was conducted Nov. 2-7, 2023. The survey interviewed 1,010 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of +/-4.2 percentage points.

Partisan and ideological views of the Court

Approval among Republicans of the Court’s job performance declined to 62% in November, down from 66% in September. Approval among independents also declined, standing at 23% and down from 33%, while among Democrats approval rose to 27% from 24% two months earlier. Approval by party identification of the Court’s job performance is shown in Table 2 for September and November. (Throughout this report, party identification includes independents who say they are closer to a party while “independents” separately listed here are those who say they are not closer to either party.)

Table 2: Approval of the Supreme Court’s job performance, by party identification, September and November 2023

Among adults

Party ID	Approval
Approve	Disapprove
Nov. 2023
Total	41	59
Republican	62	38
Independent	23	77
Democrat	27	73
Sept. 2023
Total	43	57
Republican	66	34
Independent	33	67
Democrat	24	76
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, Sept. 18-25, 2023 & Nov. 2-7, 2023
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?
Question: Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?
Question: If independent: Do you think of yourself as closer to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party?

Political ideology also structures opinion of the Court, at least as strongly as does partisanship. Table 3 shows approval in September and November by ideology.

Table 3: Approval of the Supreme Court’s job performance, by political ideology, September and November 2023

Among adults

Ideology	Approval
Approve	Disapprove
Nov. 2023
Total	41	59
Conservative	65	35
Moderate	39	61
Liberal	13	87
Sept. 2023
Total	43	57
Conservative	70	30
Moderate	37	63
Liberal	15	85
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, Sept. 18-25, 2023 & Nov. 2-7, 2023
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?
Question: Generally speaking, how would you describe your political views?

Abortion and gun rights

In June 2022, the Supreme Court issued the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had made abortion legal in all 50 states. The Court also ruled in 2022, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. A substantial majority, 65%, say they oppose the Dobbs decision striking down Roe, with 35% favoring the decision. On the Bruen case, 67% favor the decision, while 33% are opposed to the ruling.

Table 4 shows the trend in opinion about the Dobbs decision. There has been very little change over the past year, with close to two-thirds opposed to the decision and about one-third in favor.

Table 4: Favor or oppose Dobbs decision striking down Roe v. Wade

Among adults

Poll dates	Favor or oppose Dobbs
Favor	Oppose
11/2-7/23	35	65
9/18-25/23	36	64
7/7-12/23	38	62
5/8-18/23	35	65
3/13-22/23	33	67
1/9-20/23	35	64
11/15-22/22	33	66
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys
Question: In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, thus striking down the 1973 decision that made abortion legal in all 50 states. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Those who agree with the Court’s rulings are more approving of the Court’s job performance than those who oppose the Court’s decisions. Table 5 shows how agreement or disagreement with Dobbs is related to approval within each partisan category, which makes an impact on approval of the Court apart from the role of partisanship alone. Republicans who oppose the Dobbs decision are considerably less approving of the Court than are their fellow partisans who favor the Dobbs decision. Similarly, independents who agree with the Court’s decision are more approving of the Court than those who oppose the decision, though both of these groups strongly disapprove of the Court’s job performance. Among Democrats, the small minority who favor the Dobbs decision are far more likely to approve of the Court than are Democrats opposed to the decision.

Table 5: Court approval by opinion of Dobbs, by party identification

Among adults

Opinion of Dobbs	Court approval
Approve	Disapprove
Republican
Favor	73	27
Oppose	47	53
Independent
Favor	33	67
Oppose	19	81
Democrat
Favor	60	40
Oppose