The public has less trust in all three branches of the federal government
A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that American adults support judicial and legislative checks on presidential power.
2 min. read
Large majorities of U.S. adults support the role of the courts and Congress in serving as checks on presidential power, even though the public has less trust in all three branches of the federal government than it does in many other American institutions and professions, according to a survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
The policy center’s Institutions of Democracy survey finds that trust in the U.S. Supreme Court has continued to decline since the court’s 2022 Dobbs ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion codified in Roe v. Wade. Trust in the nation’s highest court has slid 27% since 2019. Nearly a third of those surveyed say they have no trust at all in the Supreme Court to operate in the best interests of “people like you.” In just the past 10 months, since May 2024, the percentage of those with no or low trust in that court grew to 59% from 55%.
The survey also finds that a majority of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction and a slim majority think a year from now the economy will be worse than it is today. A strong majority of Americans say the president should follow a Supreme Court ruling, even if the president believes the ruling prevents him from protecting the country from a terrorist attack. Compared with 20 years ago, Americans are much less confident that Supreme Court justices will make decisions without considering their personal views and find the ethical practices of the justices to be significantly worse. Jury service is a way to bolster trust in the legal system and is positively associated with views of increased legitimacy and trust in the courts, and more positive views of judges. But fewer people report being called for jury duty and a smaller proportion of those who are called are serving.
“Because judges have neither the power of the purse nor of the sword, it is especially important that they retain the respect and confidence of the citizenry and that the public appreciates the indispensable role that the courts play in protecting our rights, sustaining our system of government, and helping the country navigate contentious issues and times,” says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
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