Marquette University: New Marquette Law School national survey finds U.S. Supreme Court approval remains below 50% following slight decline; public estimation of the justices’ honesty and ethical standards has increased slightly since May

MILWAUKEE – As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its October 2023 term, a new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 43% of adults approve of the job the Court is doing, while 57% disapprove. In the previous survey in July, 45% approved and 55% disapproved. Approval of the Court has remained below 50% since May 2022, when it stood at 44%. While approval is up from the low point of 38% in July 2022, it has fluctuated in the 40s percent range since then.

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.)

Table 1: Approval of Supreme Court’s job performance

Among adults

Poll dates	Approval
Approve	Disapprove
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 Sept. 18-25, 2023. The survey interviewed 1,007 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of +/-4.1 percentage points.

Partisan and ideological views of the Court and recent decisions

Approval among Republicans declined by 3 percentage points, to 66% in September, down from 69% in July. Approval among independents declined 7 percentage points, while among Democrats it rose 1 percentage point from July to September. Approval of the Court by party identification is shown in Table 2 for July and September. (Throughout this report, party identification includes independents who say they are closer to a party, while independents are those who say they are not closer to either party.)

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

Among adults

Party ID		Approval
	Approve		Disapprove
Sept. 2023
Total		43		57
Republican		66		34
Independent		33		67
Democrat		24		76
July 2023
Total		45		55
Republican		69		31
Independent		40		59
Democrat		23		77
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, July 7-12, 2023 & Sept. 18-25, 2023
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

Political ideology also structures opinion of the Court. Table 3 shows approval by ideology in July and September.

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

Among adults

Ideology		Approval
	Approve		Disapprove
Sept. 2023
Total		43		57
Very conservative		73		27
Somewhat conservative		69		31
Moderate		37		63
Somewhat liberal		22		78
Very liberal		6		94
July 2023
Total		45		55
Very conservative		82		18
Somewhat conservative		69		31
Moderate		39		61
Somewhat liberal		17		83
Very liberal		9		91
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, July 7-12, 2023 & Sept. 18-25, 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?

Ideological views also structure reaction to individual decisions of the Court. Some decisions are more popular with all respondents, and some less popular, but reaction follows ideological lines for each of five major decisions of recent years.

Table 4 shows overall reaction to each decision. Four of the five decisions have a majority of the public in favor, while the decision overturning Roe v. Wade has a majority opposed.

Table 4: Favor or oppose recent major Court decisions

Among adults

Decision		Favor or oppose
	Favor		Oppose
Same-sex marriage		69		31
LGBT anti-discrimination protection		85		15
Overturn Roe v. Wade		36		64
Guns outside home		64		36
Ban use of race in admissions		77		23
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Sept. 18-25, 2023
Question: In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Question: In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Question: In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, thus striking down the 1973 decision that made abortion legal in all 50 states. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Question: In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that, subject to some restrictions, the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Question: In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges cannot use race as a factor in deciding which applicants to admit. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Table 5 shows the percentage favoring each of those decisions by respondent ideology. Liberals are more in favor of two decisions that are conventionally viewed as liberal—same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination protection for LGBT workers—and conservatives are less in favor. Conservatives are more in favor, and liberals less so, for decisions conventionally viewed as conservative—abortion, guns outside the home, and banning the use of race in college admissions.

Table 5: Favor recent Court decisions, by ideology

Adults

Ideology		Percentage favoring decision
	Same-sex marriage		LGBT anti-discrimination protection		Overturn Roe v. Wade		Guns outside home		Ban use of race in admissions
Very conservative		34