A new poll shows that 70% of Americans believe Supreme Court justices are more likely to shape the law to fit their own ideology, rather than serving as neutral arbiters of the law.
The Associated Press-NORC poll released Thursday further found that less than a third of Americans believe the nation’s highest court is more likely to provide an independent check on other branches of government by being fair and impartial.
The poll comes as the court is poised to release rulings in several high-profile cases relating to former President Trump and the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Roughly 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they have hardly any confidence in the people running the Supreme Court, according to the poll.
The poll surveyed 1,088 U.S. adults from June 20-24 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The poll advertises a margin of error of 4%.
Just half of Republicans have a great deal or a moderate amount of confidence in the court’s handling of important issues, including gun policy, abortion, elections and voting, and presidential power and immunity, according to the new poll.
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Meanwhile, 8 in 10 Democrats say justices are likely to shape the law to fit their own ideology. Roughly 7 in 10 independents agree.
The Supreme Court is due to hand down rulings in key cases both Thursday and Friday. The court mistakenly posted a draft of an opinion on a key abortion case to its website Wednesday before quickly taking it down.
The case relates to whether Idaho hospitals are required to perform abortions in emergency situations despite a state law banning the act in most situations.
Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed to Fox News Digital that the opinion has not formally been posted.
On Wednesday, the Court handed the Biden administration a win, ruling that plaintiffs challenging the federal government’s effort to influence social media lacked standing to do so.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
