Americans Assess Future of Supreme Court

[struggle4progress]

May 30, 2005

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Adults in the United States are divided on the way the country’s foremost tribunal should handle its rulings, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 51 per cent of respondents believe the Supreme Court should consider changing times and current realities, while 42 per cent say it should only take into account the original intentions of the authors of the Constitution. <snip>

Which comes closer to your point of view: a) In making decisions, the Supreme Court should only consider the original intentions of the authors of the Constitution; or b) In making decisions, the Supreme Court should consider changing times and current realities in applying the principles of the Constitution.

Original intentions 42%
Changing times 51%
Don’t know / No answer 8%

President George W. Bush may have the opportunity to make several nominations to the Supreme Court. Would you like to see him make the court more conservative, more liberal, or keep the present balance?

More conservative 27%
More liberal 29%
Keep present balance 39%
Don’t know / No answer 5%

Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,104 registered American voters, conducted from May 18 to May 23, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=7422