Americans divided on approval of U.S. Supreme Court

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. residents are closely divided on their views of how the U.S. Supreme Court is performing, a Gallup poll released Friday indicates.

Forty-six percent of respondents approve of the way the Supreme Court is doing its job, while 45 percent said they disapprove, essentially unchanged from a survey on the high court in July, results showed.

In Gallup's annual governance poll, the Supreme Court generally has had a strong approval rating and an overall net positive rating through the years, but the percentage of respondents approving of the court has fallen below the majority level in the five polls Gallup conducted since 2011.

The Princeton, N.J., polling agency said the sustained drop suggests the court isn't immune to the polarizing factors that have caused Americans' approval of the presidency and Congress to decline in recent years.

More than six in 10 respondents said they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the judiciary, somewhat lower than the historical average of 70 percent dating back to 1972, Gallup said

A plurality -- 41 percent -- believes the Supreme Court's ideology is "just about right." Three in 10 said they believe the high court is too liberal.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,510 adults conducted Sept. 5-8. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.