How do Americans perceive the role of the courts? The independence of court decisions from executive and legislative politics plays an important role in maintaining the balance of power in the U.S. government. In the past few weeks the courts have been increasingly called on to adjudicate the legality of executive orders such as those concerning birthright citizenship, government funding for research, and deportation of immigrants, underlining the importance of bipartisan respect for these decisions.
Data from PRL’s weekly pulse survey shows that since early 2025 there has been a divergence in support for respecting decisions made by out-party judges, with Republicans increasingly indicating that they should sometimes be ignored.
Historically we have seen low support from both Republicans and Democrats for ignoring out-party court decisions, usually around 15% or below. Between the first week of January and the peak in support in April 2025 there was a 14% increase in support for ignoring court decisions from Republicans. Individuals who identify as MAGA Republicans are even more likely to support ignoring out-party court decisions.
Despite the large increase in Republican support, the percentage of individuals who agree with ignoring out-party court decisions remains at less than a quarter of the total respondents.