Most Americans trust the Supreme Court, even if a majority said it "gets too mixed up in politics," according to the latest Annenberg Public Policy Center poll at the University of Pennsylvania.
While 57% of Americans say the Supreme Court can get too "mixed up in politics," 68% have a great or fair amount of trust in it.
"Because the well-being of our system of government depends on the integrity of an independent, impartial, fair judiciary and on the public perception that judges honor these expectations, the persistently high levels of trust in the Supreme Court that we find reflected in Annenberg surveys should be celebrated," APPC Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson said in a release. "But the finding that half do not believe that Supreme Court justices set aside their personal beliefs in deciding cases is worrisome."
Some Democrats, like South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Tuesday night's presidential primary debate, expressed an interest in increasing the number of justices on the bench. But, the poll's showing American trust in the court, including 70% saying it has "about the right amount of power," seems to suggest an expansion of the Judicial branch is unnecessary.
Republican-appointed judges hold a 5-4 majority on the current Supreme Court, but the poll found 63% of Americans said the court is "sometimes liberal, sometimes conservative depending on the law and facts of the case."
Annenberg Public Policy Center polled 1,104 American adults Aug. 16-27, and the findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.