Polls & Research
Archive Search
Americans Ponder Supreme Court Appointments
- Many adults in the United States would establish different rules for their judiciary, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. 67 per cent of respondents believe Supreme Court justices should not be appointed for life.
In the U.S., Supreme Court justices are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate. In September 2005, John Roberts was sworn in as the new chief justice. Roberts—who served as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit—was ratified in a 78-22 upper house vote. The 50-year-old Roberts became the youngest chief justice in two centuries.
In October 2005, Bush nominated U.S. Court of Appeals judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Bush had originally selected Harriet Miers to replace retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but she withdrew her nomination. Alito was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 31.
A bill that seeks to "permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings" was approved by the U.S. Senate judiciary committee in March. 56 per cent of respondents think it is a good idea to allow television coverage of the Supreme Court.
Polling Data
Should Supreme Court justices be appointed for life or not?
Yes | 26% |
No | 67% |
Don't know | 6% |
Other | 1% |
Do you think it is a good idea or a bad idea to allow television coverage of the Supreme Court?
Good idea | 56% |
Bad idea | 31% |
Don't know | 10% |
Other | 3% |
Source: Scripps Howard News Service / Ohio University
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,031 American adults, conducted from Oct. 7 to Oct. 24, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.