MU Law School poll finds approval rating for US Supreme Court rose just slightly from 2-year low

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A few times a year, Marquette Law School (MU) releases a poll to measure the heartbeat of politics and better understand how people feel about a range of issues. 

The latest poll released focuses on the Supreme Court. 

The nationwide poll surveyed 1,000 people between Jan. 9 and Jan. 20. Overall, 53% of respondents said they disapproved of the way the court is handling their job, while 47% approve. 

Charles Franklin, the director of the MU Law School Poll, says the low approval ratings can be attributed to the noticeable partisan differences. 

"We've seen Republican approval go up by 5 to 10%, while Democratic approval fell by more than 40% initially at least," said Franklin. 

The number hasn't reached 50% since March of 2022, and it hit a two-year low in July 2022.

The shift came right after the court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that brought a lot of attention to the Supreme Court. 

"For the vast majority of the public, those are topics they haven’t heard about, so as a result, when those decisions come down, the public is hearing about them for the first time and forming opinions. That’s part of the reason we see approval start to move back up." 

As far as partisan results, 35% of Democrats approve of the Supreme Court in the latest poll, while 67% of Republicans approve of their decisions.

Respondents were also asked their opinions on specific recent Supreme Court decisions such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, colleges not being allowed to use race as a factor in deciding which applicants to admit, and business owners' religious beliefs as justification in refusing services to gay people.

Overall, the majority of people polled disagreed with all of those decisions.