POLL: Two-Thirds of All Americans Want Cameras in the Supreme Court

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A new poll shows that most Americans want to increase the transparency of the Supreme Court by adding TV cameras to their proceedings.

C-SPAN partnered with Pierrepont Analytics LLC to conduct a study with 1,000 participants who answered questions about how often they follow news stories about the Supreme Court, and how much impact they think it has on their daily lives. The poll found that 84 percent of people think the Court’s decisions do indeed have “an impact on their everyday lives,” though only 29 percent think the Court is transparent in terms of how much information they provide about how the justices decide cases.

The poll goes on say 42 percent of Americans think the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee uses cameras as “an effective and fair tool” when they hold televised hearings to question Supreme Court nominees about their judicial philosophy. Only 46 percent of participants were aware that the Supreme Court provides audio recordings of their oral arguments, and then they were asked if they think the Court should allow television coverage of its oral arguments.

Altogether, 65 percent of voters agree the Court should let oral arguments be televised, and 70 percent think that decision would build trust in the Court’s process and their rulings.

“Trust in the federal government has taken a powerful hit in recent years,” said Pierrepont Analytics pollster Robert Green. “But there is one ray of light among the gloom. Under-50 American voters are much more likely to listen to Supreme Court oral argument audio than age 50+ voters. Awareness and exposure to oral arguments audio are building favorability and trust in the Court.”

The poll also found that 69 percent of people think it’s important that the Supreme Court be diverse in gender and ethnicity. Racial diversity has been a recurring topic as President Joe Biden moved to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the bench.