GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Lawyers for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Friday as the nation's highest court tackled one of its most important and high-profile cases in years.
The Gallup Poll has asked the public to rate the Supreme Court in several ways in recent months, and in earlier years the Poll asked about the issue of cameras in courtrooms.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job?
Approve |
Disapprove |
No opinion |
|
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5 |
62% |
29 |
9 |
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as president?
|
Disapprove |
No |
|
2000 |
% |
% |
% |
2000 Aug 29-Sep 3 |
62 |
35 |
3 |
00 Aug 18-19 |
62 |
35 |
3 |
00 Aug 11-12 |
58 |
39 |
3 |
00 Aug 4-5 |
57 |
40 |
3 |
00 Jul 25-26 |
57 |
39 |
4 |
00 Jul 14-15 |
59 |
37 |
4 |
00 Jul 6-9 |
59 |
36 |
5 |
00 Jun 22-25 |
55 |
40 |
5 |
00 Jun 6-7 |
60 |
36 |
4 |
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?
|
Disapprove |
No |
|
2000 |
% |
% |
% |
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5 |
48 |
42 |
10 |
2000 May 18-21 |
39 |
52 |
9 |
2000 Jan 7-10 |
51 |
42 |
7 |
In its recent rulings, do you think the Supreme Court has been too liberal, too conservative, or just about right?
Too |
Too |
About |
No |
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5 |
27 |
16 |
49 |
8 |
Republicans |
40 |
8 |
46 |
6 |
Democrats |
16 |
24 |
52 |
8 |
1995 Jul 7-9 |
31 |
20 |
41 |
8 |
1993 Jun 18-21 ^ |
22 |
24 |
45 |
9 |
^ Based on 503 national adults; margin of error ± 5 pct. pts. |
Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one -- a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little? First, ... . Next, … . [RANDOM ORDER]
Great |
Quite |
|
Very |
NONE (vol.) |
No |
|
2000 Jun 22-25 |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
A. The church or organized |
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. The military |
25 |
39 |
26 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
C. The U.S. Supreme Court |
18 |
29 |
35 |
14 |
1 |
3 |
D. Banks |
14 |
32 |
41 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
E. Public schools |
13 |
24 |
41 |
19 |
2 |
1 |
F. Newspapers |
12 |
25 |
38 |
22 |
2 |
1 |
G. Congress |
7 |
17 |
47 |
24 |
3 |
2 |
H. Television news |
11 |
25 |
40 |
21 |
2 |
1 |
I. Organized labor |
9 |
16 |
44 |
23 |
2 |
5 |
J. The presidency |
15 |
27 |
37 |
18 |
2 |
1 |
K. The police |
18 |
36 |
33 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
L. The medical system |
14 |
26 |
37 |
21 |
2 |
* |
M. The criminal justice system |
8 |
16 |
42 |
30 |
3 |
1 |
N. Big business |
9 |
20 |
45 |
22 |
2 |
2 |
O. Health maintenance |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Less than 0.5% |
||||||
(vol.) Volunteered response |
Do you think the judge in the O.J. Simpson case (he is accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman) should ban television cameras from the courtroom where hearings in the O.J. Simpson case are being held, or do you think television cameras should be allowed in the courtroom?
Ban |
Allow |
No |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
1994 Oct 7-9 |
68 |
27 |
4 |
As you may know, television cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom for the Oklahoma City Bombing trial. In your view is this a good idea or a bad idea?
Good |
Bad |
No |
|
% |
% |
% |
|
1997 Mar 24-26 |
80 |
18 |
2 |
Survey Methods
The results reported here are based on telephone interviews with randomly selected national samples of at least 1,000 adults, 18 years and older. For results based on these samples, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.