As the Supreme Court gets ready to begin its new term on Monday, public support for the Court has reached historic lows 100 days after it overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion.
According to a report by The Hill, Only 47% of Americans, a 20-point decline from two years ago, including 7 points since last year, indicated they have at least a "good level" of faith in the judicial branch, according to a Gallup poll released on Thursday.
The Court is now viewed as being too conservative by a record number of people. According to the poll, a dramatic reduction among Democrats is mostly to blame for the decline in trust. Only 25% of Democrats now have a great deal or fair amount of faith in the judiciary, down from 50% a year earlier.
Just 40% of respondents, according to a Marquette University Law School poll published earlier in September, think the Supreme Court is doing a good job.
The statistics, according to history and public affairs professor Julian Zelizer, highlight the fact that this is a pivotal period for the Court.
"The Supreme Court is at an important moment," Zelizer said. "Trust in the institutions has vastly diminished, certainly among Democrats, and many have a close eye on how they rule on other vital matters. If decisions seem to keep coming from a very pointed political direction, frustration and calls for reform will only mount."
Progressives had been warning about a potentially dangerous Supreme Court that they believed was out of sync with the majority of Americans even before the decision to overturn Roe.
However, many Democrats, including President Biden, are attempting to utilize the Court's rightward tilt in the wake of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization as a means of energizing voters in advance of the midterm elections.
"Justice Alito said that women can decide the outcome of this election — paraphrasing some quote in the actual decision. Well, he ain't seen nothing yet," Biden said last week at a Democratic National Committee event.
