How Americans feel about Clarence Thomas and Supreme Court ethics

In the wake of the revelation that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was offered and accepted lavish trips from a Texas real estate billionaire, its reported that most Americans are in agreement that Thomas’s failure to disclose the trips was wrong. The Economist and YouGov reports that most Americans feel Supreme Court justices should have to report things of this nature.

However, majorities of Americans believe it is actually common for judges (63%) and Supreme Court justices (55%) to accept gifts without disclosure. 72% of Americans strongly or somewhat support requiring justices to disclose most gifts and 69% are in favor of the Supreme Court adopting a formal code of ethics for the justices.

It’s a rare topic that has bipartisan support in a politically fraught time in the country. Though, the parties differ greatly on the Courts job. 68% of Republicans strongly or somewhat approve of the way the court is doing the job compared with 32% of Democrats who have been unhappy with the court, particularly since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer.

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