Yes, I’m serious. If you answered correctly (and of course you did) you are part of the 19% of the American public who got it right, according to this survey commissioned by C-Span concerning the Supreme Court. (The interviews were conducted on June 18.)
Why the lack of knowledge? Maybe it’s because 62% said they hear too little about the workings of the Supreme Court. Or that 75% get their information from television, and only 7% from blogs like this one.
Only 33% of those polled can name at least one Supreme Court case, with Roe v. Wade being by far the one cited. (Brown v. Bd of Ed. was a distant second)
If I haven’t undermined your confidence in the basis for the rest of America’s answers, there are some other interesting beliefs or perceptions out there:
- Sixty-four percent thought that the gender of the nominee was either “not very important” or “not important at all.”
- More people valued judicial experience (48%) than a different background (37%) for a Supreme Court justice.
- 38% support Kagan’s confirmation; 28% do not support; 33% don’t care. (Ouch on that last one.)
- Only 16% think we should keep appointing Ivy League justices, while 63% would prefer a different educational background.
- By a 63% to 37% margin, Americans would like to see television coverage of Supreme Court oral arguments. (I’ll bet that will reverse after they’ve seen their first one!)
CNN’s latest poll shows that 44% of Americans support Kagan’s nomination (down 10 points from when she was nominated); and 39% oppose, with 17% unsure.
Rasmussen reports, contrary to C-Span and CNN, that 42% oppose confirmation, and 35% favor.
Kagan’s hearing starts Monday.
Print
-
Ex-GOP Voter
-
Magnum
-
Magnum
