The U.S. Supreme Court isn’t drifting toward crisis; it’s already there. With approval ratings at historic lows, ethics scandals clouding justices’ reputations, and a pattern of partisan rulings reshaping American life, public faith in the court has crumbled.
The U.S. Supreme Court used to be a symbol of impartial justice, but recent polls and public sentiments show that there is low trust in the court’s ability to function as an unbiased arbiter of the law.
According to a poll by Marquette Law School in 2024, only 48% of Americans approved of the Supreme Court’s performance. This shows a declining confidence in the court not just this year but in recent years.
In April 2025, an Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that only 35% of respondents expressed a lot of trust in the Supreme Court, which is the lowest level in the survey’s 20 years of polling.
The Supreme Court’s recent decisions have also fueled concerns about its impartiality. For example, the court’s handling of the cases related to former President Donald Trump’s policies, such as restricting birthright citizenship, has drawn a lot of criticism not only from people in the U.S. but from other countries as well.
The Supreme Court’s legitimacy is not merely a matter of public opinion, but it’s also a fundamental part of our functioning American democracy. We cannot let the Supreme Court remain biased as trust continues to wane. The imperative for meaningful reforms has become urgent, and we cannot let democracy keep failing us.
