Marquette Law School Poll to release results of national surveys on U.S. Supreme Court, political topics, March 30-31

March 23, 2022


Marquette Law Poll logoMILWAUKEE — The Marquette Law School Poll will release the results of its national survey of public opinion over two days, March 30-31, via video conversations between poll director Charles Franklin and Alan Borsuk, senior fellow in law and public policy.

On Wednesday, March 30, the Marquette Law School Poll will release results pertaining to public opinion about the U.S. Supreme Court. This is the seventh installment in a series of nationwide surveys measuring public perception and awareness of the nation’s highest court.

Franklin will then share findings of the Marquette Law School Poll’s national query into several political topics on Thursday, March 31. This release will examine public opinion of such topics as President Joe Biden’s job approval, vaccinations, and views of several political figures and preferences for the 2024 presidential election.

Each video and corresponding release and data will be available at 6 a.m. EDT (5 a.m. CDT) on the Marquette Law School Poll website. Embargoed releases of national surveys are available to members of the media who formally register their interest in advance online and agree to stated embargo policies. Reporters who have registered for previous embargoes do not need to register again.

Media availability surrounding this release will be extremely limited on release days. Those interested in an interview should contact Kevin Conway, associate director of university communication, at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.

U.S. Supreme Court poll – Wednesday, March 30

The new Marquette Law School Poll Supreme Court survey will report public opinion about the nomination of Judge Katanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and her potential impact on the Court. Poll respondents are also asked when they think senators are justified in opposing a nominee and how important the next appointment is to respondents.

The release builds on past Marquette Law School Poll surveys by monitoring opinion about major cases before the Court concerning abortion, affirmative action in college admissions, whether religious beliefs can justify a business owner’s refusing service to gay people and whether the Second Amendment includes a right to possess a gun outside the home.

The survey continues to examine public approval of how the Court is handling its job, which declined after the July 2021 poll, and public perception of the Court’s ideological balance and any recent shifts. Additional questions ask for understandings of whether the Court has expanded or restricted the rights of several particular groups over the last 15 years.

National poll on political topics – Thursday, March 31

This latest national poll looks at President Joe Biden’s job approval rating and his handling of the situation in Ukraine.

The survey looks at possible 2024 presidential hopefuls, with favorability ratings of Biden, former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The poll also compares how Trump, Pence and DeSantis fare in matchups with Biden, if respondents would like to see Trump run in 2024, and how much confidence they have in the outcome of the 2020 election.

At a time of rapidly falling omicron cases, the survey also asks respondents how serious they think the COVID-19 pandemic is in their states now, comparing that to trends since July, and about their own vaccination status and willingness to be vaccinated.

The poll also asks perceptions of the ideological positions of Biden and the Democratic and Republican parties.

Begun in 2012, the Marquette Law School Poll is the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history. Since 2019, the Law School’s surveys of national public opinion about the U.S. Supreme Court have expanded the work of the poll both geographically and to a new set of topics of broad importance. Franklin has directed the poll since its inception and is a professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School. His academic articles on partisanship, public opinion, the Supreme Court, and U.S. Senate elections have appeared in major journals and as book chapters. He is a past president of the Society for Political Methodology and an elected fellow of the society. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.


About Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu