Two-Thirds of Americans Can’t Name Any U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Says New FindLaw.com Survey

Despite all the recent controversy surrounding U.S. Supreme Court decisions on health care, immigration and other issues, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t name even a single member of the Supreme Court.

That’s according to a new national survey by FindLaw.com (www.findlaw.com), the most popular legal information Web site. The survey found that only 34 percent of Americans can name any member of the nation’s highest court.

Chief Justice John Roberts is the most well known of the justices, but could be named by only one in five Americans. Only one percent of Americans can correctly name all nine sitting Justices.

According to the FindLaw.com survey, the percentage of Americans who can name any U.S. Supreme Court justice are:

- John Roberts – 20%
- Antonin Scalia – 16%
- Clarence Thomas – 16%
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg – 13%
- Sonia Sotomayor – 13%
- Anthony Kennedy – 10%
- Samuel Alito – 5%
- Elena Kagan – 4%
- Stephen Breyer – 3%

“Recent rulings, particularly the decision upholding health care reform, have brought more attention to the U.S. Supreme Court than we’ve seen in past years,” said Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor at FindLaw.com.

“However, the High Court issues its rulings as a collective body. While justices can and do issue individual concurring and dissenting opinions, court sessions are conducted without TV cameras and deliberations take place behind closed doors. So while the decisions often have significant and lasting impact, the justices themselves are generally not very visible nor well known to the public as individuals.”

FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters, is a leading provider of free intelligent legal information, online marketing and client development services, providing the legal industry and consumers with the knowledge to act.

Thomson Reuters is a leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. It combines industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets.

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