WASHINGTON — In the midst of increasing political polarization, a recent Gallup poll reveals that American trust in the judicial system and courts has fallen to an all-time low of just 35% this year.
This marks a significant decline of 24 percentage points within the past four years, distinguishing the U.S. from other affluent nations, where trust in judicial systems remains comparatively stable among the populace.
These findings emerge following a turbulent period in the country’s history, which included the recent dismantling of nationwide abortion rights, the indictment of former President Donald Trump along with the dismissal of federal charges against him, and his continual criticism of the judicial system’s credibility.
The erosion of trust transcends political lines. Confidence decreased among both those who disapprove of the country’s leadership under President Joe Biden and those who support it, according to Gallup’s analysis. The survey did not probe the political affiliations of respondents.
Typically, a decline in confidence in the judicial system is expected among those critical of the government; however, the 17-point drop noted among disapproving respondents during Biden’s tenure was particularly sharp, likely attributed to the legal challenges faced by Trump, Gallup suggested.
For individuals who expressed approval of the country’s leadership, there was an 18-point decline from 2023 to 2024. This may reflect growing discontent with court decisions that have favored Trump. Previously, confidence in the judicial branch had exceeded 60% within this group during the early years of Biden’s presidency, only to plummet to its current level.
This year, Trump confronted four criminal charges, yet only one, related to hush money in New York, proceeded to trial and resulted in a conviction before he secured his bid for the presidential nomination.
Following that, special counsel Jack Smith concluded two federal cases against Trump, which examined his attempts to contest the 2020 election results and accusations of retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Another state-level case on election interference in Fulton County, Georgia is largely stalled, with Trump maintaining that he has committed no illegal acts.
Additional Gallup data indicates that Democrats’ trust in the Supreme Court plummeted by 25 points from 2021 to 2022 when the Court revoked constitutional protections for abortion rights. While their trust in the judicial system saw a slight recovery to 34% in 2023, it fell again to just 24% in 2024 following a ruling that suggested Trump and other former presidents possess expansive immunity from criminal charges.
Conversely, confidence among Republicans in the courts reached 71% in 2024.
Overall, trust in the broader legal system eroded more dramatically than in many other U.S. institutions over the past four years. For instance, faith in the federal government fell to 26%, a decline of 20 points, although not as pronounced as the loss in confidence in the judicial sector.
This dwindling trust is especially stark when compared globally, with only a few nations witnessing greater declines in public confidence over a four-year period. Examples include a 46-point drop in Myanmar coinciding with the reinstatement of military rule in 2021, a 35-point decrease in Venezuela amid severe socio-economic and political crises from 2012 to 2016, and a 28-point decline in Syria as its civil war began.
The Gallup survey was conducted via telephone with a random sample of 1,000 American adults between June 28 and August 1.