PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On the same day that President Joe Biden proposed new measures to restore confidence in the Supreme Court, the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at Penn released research showing just how far confidence has fallen.
The reports draw on 20 years of surveys about the courts’ trustworthiness to show how precipitously it’s declined and how quickly.
Research Analyst Shawn Patterson says early surveys showed 75% of people trusted the courts compared to roughly 50% for the president and Congress. Now, half of those surveyed view them all with skepticism.
Patterson blames polarization, particularly after the Dobbs decision overturned the legal right to abortion. He says Democrats and Independents view the courts less favorably than Republicans and a majority of Americans don’t believe judges set aside personal political beliefs when making decisions.
The report found 72% of people think courts favor the wealthy and half think judges rule to help the side they agree with politically. Less than half agree that judges are fair or impartial.
Patterson can’t say if the measures Biden has proposed — term limits and a binding code of conduct — will improve public confidence but he says the center’s research shows they’d be popular.
“Most of these solutions are things that the public supports,” he said.