In recent years, public opinion polls have reflected growing disapproval for the Supreme Court. In September 2025, for example, a Pew Research Center poll found that 48 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, down from 70 percent five years earlier. A Gallup poll measuring Supreme Court approval rating reached its lowest point (39 percent) since starting in 2000. This steep decline occurred after the contentious confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, and stayed low amid a series of ethics scandals involving the justices.
At the same time, Supreme Court reform remains overwhelmingly popular with the public. In September 2025, an Annenberg Public Policy Center poll found that 69 percent of Americans favor setting a specific number of years that Supreme Court justices can serve as opposed to lifetime appointments. Public support for term limits has been consistently popular over the past few years, with approval as high as 83 percent.
Additionally, support for ethics reform is high: The same Annenberg poll found that 78 percent of respondents support the creation of a formal ethics code for Supreme Court justices that allows for them to be investigated if they are accused of an ethical violation.
Below is a collection of public polling on attitudes toward the Supreme Court from 2020 to 2025, covering three categories: public opinion of the Supreme Court as an institution, public opinion on life tenure, and public opinion on ethics reform for the justices.
Methodology
All polls included above were either a New York Times Select Pollster or met the following two criteria: the pollster is a member of a professional polling organization and conducts probability-based sampling. Only nationwide surveys are included.
