These are the topline results of a YouGov/Huffington Post survey of 1000 US adults interviewed September 26 - 28, 2014 on the Supreme Court. The results show that most people think that justices should be appointed for limited terms. The margin of error is 4.0%.
Click here to see full tables and demographic crossbreaks
Do you think the Supreme Court is too liberal, too conservative, or about right?
Too liberal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28%
About right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23%
Too conservative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27%
Do you think Supreme Court justices should continue to be given lifetime appointments and be allowed to retire when they choose, or should Supreme Court justices serve for a limited term in office?
Limited term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57%
Lifetime appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18%
Do you think Supreme Court justices should have a mandatory retirement age, or not?
Mandatory retirement age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51%
No mandatory retirement age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17%
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Strongly favorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13%
Somewhat favorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16%
Somewhat unfavorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12%
Strongly unfavorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44%
As you may know, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is considered to be one of the more liberal justices on the Supreme Court, is 81 years old. Some people say Ginsburg should retire while President Obama is in office so that he can replace her with another liberal justice. Other people say she should stay in office as long as she wants, even if it means she will retire during a Republican presidency and be replaced with a more conservative justice. Which comes closer to your opinion?
Ginsburg should retire while President Obama is in office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29%
Ginsburg should retire whenever she wants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22%