These charts were made using information in a recent C-SPAN / PSB Survey -- done between March 7th and 9th of a random national sample of 1,032 likely voters, with a margin of error of 3.05 points.
The good part is that the public seems to understand that the decisions made by the Supreme Court affects their lives. That's the opinion of nine out of ten Americans (90%) -- and no gender, age, or political group had less than 88% saying that.
The bad news is that a majority of Americans (57%) could not name a single member of the court that has such an important effect on their lives. Only 43% could name at least one Supreme Court justice. That's embarrassing, and displays the ignorance of the American public regarding their government.
And that embarrassment should extend to all political divisions -- Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. All three groups had a majority failing this simple test (although Independents did better than either Republicans or Democrats). If you're going to criticize (or praise) the Supreme Court, shouldn't you be able to name at least one of the justices on that court?
Among those who could name a justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was named most often (by 16% of respondents). Trailing her were Roberts at 12%, Thomas at 10%, and Sotomayor at 3%. None of the other four justices could be named by more than 1% of respondents.
