Supreme Court gains confidence as power concerns climb
Americans are beginning to regain confidence in the Supreme Court after hitting an all-time low when the court effectively ruled to overturn Roe v Wade, according to an AP-NORC poll released Friday.
The big picture: The confidence boost is notable because Americans increasingly think that the Supreme Court has too much power, a trend likely to grow as the justices continue to take on cases that Americans are deeply divided on.
Driving the news: The poll found that 67% of adults now have at least some confidence in the high court, up from 56% in a poll conducted shortly after the reproductive rights ruling.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents think the court has too much power, a significant jump from 29% in April.Zoom in: The number of people who think the Supreme Court has too much power varies sharply depending on political affiliation.
Fifty-six percent of Democrats think the court has too much power, up from 34% in April.Twenty percent of Republicans agree, which is roughly unchanged from the results taken in April.Republicans are almost two times more likely than Democrats to say that federal judges are too powerful (50% vs. 24%) which suggests an increased distrust towards the lower courts.Between the lines: The court's 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices that President Trump appointed, has ruled in Trump's favor in a slew of high-profile wins for conservatives.
The court handed down a ruling in June that effectively weakens the judicial branches overall power.In that case, Trump v. CASA, Inc., the justices determined that federal district judges do not have the ability to block laws throughout the United States, a policy known as an universal injunction.Details: The AP-NORC poll was conducted with 1,437 adults between July 10-14. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.6 percentage points, with a margin of error of +/- 6.6 percentage points for respondents aged 18-29.Go deeper: Most Americans view Supreme Court as partisan: Poll