A recent survey by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center highlights significant partisan divides in public opinion on US Supreme Court reforms and the implementation of a formal ethics code for justices. This survey indicates that nearly two-thirds of Americans favor imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices, yet only 30 percent support the idea of expanding the court’s size, a proposal mainly backed by Congressional Democrats to mitigate the conservative majority.
President Joe Biden has recommended an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices, which would allow new appointments every two years, along with legislation to introduce an enforceable ethics code. These recommendations aim to address recent controversies surrounding judicial ethics and contentious rulings. Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed her support for these proposals.
The survey also underscores robust public support for strengthening Supreme Court ethics in other areas. Notably, 82 percent of respondents want justices to recuse themselves from cases involving their personal or financial interests, and 77 percent favor a formal ethics code that permits investigations into ethical breaches. Additionally, 47 percent of those surveyed support allowing the public to overturn controversial Supreme Court decisions through a vote.
Chief Justice John Roberts recently announced the adoption of an ethics code tailored to the court’s nine justices after considerable pressure due to undisclosed property transactions and gifts. However, critics argue that the code’s lack of enforcement mechanisms makes it insufficient, as it leaves justices to self-regulate potential conflicts of interest.
The survey indicates that while Democrats and independents with higher levels of civics knowledge are slightly more inclined to support reforms, Republicans with the same knowledge levels are less enthusiastic. Despite this discrepancy, there is a broad consensus across party lines regarding the recusal of justices in cases of conflicts of interest—87 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of Republicans agree on this point. However, 88 percent of Democrats versus 70 percent of Republicans support the implementation of a formal ethics code.
University of Pennsylvania political science professor Matt Levendusky pointed out the worrying trend of diminishing bipartisan support for the Supreme Court since the Dobbs decision. “If the court’s independence loses its bipartisan backing among the public, it may face reforms or constraints that could reduce its power,” he warned.
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