Trust in U-S Supreme Court Drops with Washington Voters

Fewer voters in Washington State this year see the U-S Supreme Court as a non-partisan, highly trusted government institution than in years past.

That's according to a new Crosscut/Elway Poll that shows 46% of voters statewide disapprove of the court while 45% approve.

The numbers are consistent across party lines. Two-thirds of Republicans approve. Two-thirds of Democrats disapprove.

However, 63% of everyone polled say the Supreme Court reflects their values some of the time or never and that 58% say the high court follows a political agenda versus 33% that say the court adheres to the U-S Constitution.

"Interesting that the first question, overall approval, splits pretty evenly but then the other questions: does it reflect your values, and does it adhere to the Constitution, was pretty tilted." Pollster Stuart Elway said.

A question on reform asked whether more judges should be added to the high court. 49% oppose increasing the number while 42% are in support.

"But 70% said they were in favor of limiting the number of years that justices could be on the court. And 73% are in favor of imposing mandatory retirement age on justices." Elway said.

Finally, voters were asked whether the terms of justices should be limited to 18 years and then rotate the terms so that every president gets to nominate a new justice. 56% approved.

"Overall, 85% of our respondents supported at least one of those reforms. So taken together, those questions and answers reflect the electorate in Washington that's fairly critical of the current Supreme Court." Elway said.

The full report can be found here.