So, how do you feel about the U.S. Supreme Court? The one (independent) branch of government, that even with its controversial rulings garnered a level of respect and credibility, is now seen as merely an extension of this administration. Public confidence in the Supreme Court has rarely been lower, and the perception that it has veered too far to the right now defines how many Americans view the nation’s highest judicial body. According to Gallup’s latest survey, 43 percent of Americans believe the Court is too conservative — the highest share ever recorded — while overall job approval has stalled at 42 percent, near historic lows. What was once regarded as the least political branch of government has become, for much of the public, another battlefield in America’s widening partisan divide.
The shift is not sudden but the culmination of a decade of ideological realignment that accelerated after the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority solidified in 2020. Landmark rulings — from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to decisions favoring limits on federal regulatory power — have reinforced perceptions that the Court now acts as an instrument of conservative policy rather than a neutral interpreter of law. The data reveal a near-mirror image of trust across party lines: 81 percent of Republicans say they have confidence in the Court, compared with only 23 percent of Democrats. That 58-point gap marks the deepest partisan divide in Gallup’s tracking history and underscores how profoundly judicial legitimacy has fractured along political identity.
This erosion of trust carries implications that reach far beyond public opinion polling. The judiciary has long depended not on force or popularity but on perceived legitimacy — the belief that its rulings, whether welcomed or resented, are grounded in principle rather than ideology. As faith in that neutrality weakens, so too does the public’s willingness to accept its authority. Historically, the United States has distinguished itself from nations where courts are viewed as extensions of ruling parties. Today, that distinction appears less secure. When a majority of citizens interpret legal outcomes as partisan victories or defeats, the judicial branch risks losing the institutional credibility that underpins constitutional democracy itself.
Globally, the trend is part of a broader shift in which courts are increasingly drawn into political polarization. From Israel’s judicial overhaul battles to populist efforts in Poland and Hungary to reshape their constitutional courts, the independence of the judiciary has become a flashpoint for modern democracies. The United States now faces its own version of that struggle — one that tests whether judicial power can remain insulated from the corrosive forces of partisanship.
Looking ahead, the Supreme Court’s new term will unfold under this cloud of public skepticism. Its rulings will influence not only the trajectory of U.S. law but also the durability of public faith in the rule of law itself. The challenge for the nation is no longer only about interpreting statutes or constitutional clauses. It is about whether Americans still believe that justice, in the highest court of the land, belongs to the country and not to one side of it. The answer to that question will shape how the world views American democracy — and how Americans define it in the years to come. Go beyond the headlines…
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