The Associated Press has this report on the new construction project.   A related news release that the Public Information Office of the U.S. Supreme Court issued today can be accessed here. But the real repair focus for the United States Supreme Court might just be how to repair the Court’s relationship with the public. Only 52 percent of the American public has a favorable opinion of the court, down from 64 percent three years ago, and a high of 80 percent favorability in 1994; Pew reported that public assessments of the Supreme Court have reached a quarter-century low. Unlike evaluations over much of the past decade, there is very little partisan divide. The Court receives relatively low favorable ratings from Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. There are virtually no partisan differences in views of the Supreme Court: 56% of Republicans and 52% of both Democrats and independents rate the Supreme Court favorably. And the decline in court ratings has occurred across party lines over the past three years. In April 2009, soon after Barack Obama took office, 70% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 64% of independents held a favorable opinion of the Court.

Republican ratings fell steeply between 2009 and 2010, with the appointments of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the court. Democratic ratings remained relatively high through 2010 but have fallen steeply since.

The weak ratings for the Court across party lines stand in contrast to most previous polls, in which those in the president’s party have viewed the Supreme Court more favorably than those in the opposite party. Most recently, throughout George W. Bush’s administration, Republicans felt much more favorably toward the Supreme Court than did Democrats. In July 2007, 73% of Republicans rated the Court favorably, compared with 49% of Democrats. This divide began even before Bush took office, triggered by the Supreme Court’s Bush v. Gore ruling. In early January 2001, 80% of Republicans viewed the court favorably, compared with 62% of Democrats. For the full report see:

http://www.people-press.org/2012/05/01/supreme-court-favorability-reaches-new-low/?src=prc-headline