Supreme Court’s Shifting Ideology

During the Obama administration, more Americans — and especially Republicans — view the Supreme Court as liberal. As many now say the court is liberal (23%) as say it is conservative (23%). In 2007, far more Americans saw the Supreme Court as conservative (36%) than saw it as liberal (15%). Currently, 39% say the Supreme Court is middle of the road, little changed from 2007 (35%). In the past three years, the proportion of Republicans saying the Supreme Court is liberal has doubled, from 18% to 34%, while the percentage saying the court is conservative has fallen from 26% to 12%. The proportion of Democrats and independents seeing the Supreme Court as liberal has also risen over the last three years, but not as drastically. A plurality of all three groups now see the Supreme Court as middle of the road. Read More