Quick, Can You Name the Nine? Most Americans Can't Identify Even One Justice
Most lawyers presumably can name at least many of the U.S. Supreme Court justices without much brain-cudgeling.
But that puts them in an elite group of Americans: Almost two-thirds can’t name even one of the judges on the nation’s top court, a Findlaw survey found. Only 1 percent of all Americans can identify all nine justices.
Garnering top recognition is Justice Clarence Thomas, who is known to 19 percent of those surveyed, followed by Chief Justice John Roberts, identified by 16 percent, explains FindLaw in a press release.
They were followed by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at 15 percent, who was the subject of a much-publicized nomination battle in Congress last year.
At the low end is Justice Stephen Breyer, named by 3 percent of respondents, followed by Justice Anthony Kennedy, named by 6 percent. Despite his almost record-breaking years on the court and high profile because of his recently announced upcoming retirement, Justice John Paul Stevens is known only to 8 percent.
“This result is not especially surprising nor, by itself, should it be alarming,” says Michael Dorf, a Cornell University law professor and former Supreme Court clerk who writes for FindLaw.
“Even though Supreme Court rulings can have a major impact on contentious issues such as the death penalty, abortion rights, discrimination and environmental protection, the court issues its rulings as a collective body,” he says in a written statement released with the FindLaw survey information. “After their 15 minutes before the Senate Judiciary Committee are up, Supreme Court justices rarely appear on television.”
