KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 4): Some 47% of US adults say they have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government that is headed by the Supreme Court.  

Pollster Gallup Inc last week said that this represents a 20-percentage-point drop from two years ago, including seven points since last year, and is now the lowest in Gallup's trend by six points.

It said the judicial branch's current tarnished image contrasts with trust levels exceeding two-thirds in most years in Gallup's trend that began in 1972.

In addition to documenting record-low trust in the federal judiciary, the new Gallup poll also finds a record-tying-low 40% of Americans saying they approve, and a record-high 58% saying they disapprove, of the job the Supreme Court is doing.

Gallup said approval of the Supreme Court fell from 49% in July 2021 to 40% in September 2022, just after the Court allowed a restrictive Texas abortion law to go into effect and allowed colleges' Covid-19 vaccination requirements to stand.

In July 2022, 43% approved after the Court's ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had limited states' abilities to restrict abortion.

The Supreme Court has seen its job approval dip into the low 40s before, including 42% ratings in 2005 and 2016, and 43% in 2013.

The latest results are based on Gallup's annual governance survey, conducted Sept 1-16.

In the current survey, 42% say the Court is too conservative — a new high for that response — while 38% say it is about right, and 18% say it is too liberal.

Both the "too liberal" and "about right" percentages are at or near their low points in Gallup's trend.

At most, 37% have described past courts as being too liberal in 2015 and 2016.