Webinar: Constitutional Crises, Credibility and Confidence in the Courts
- 14 hours ago
- 1 min read
This July 21st, SFABOTA hosted an informative webinar exploring what Americans believe about the Constitution, democratic values, and the institutions entrusted to uphold them. Drawing on a new national survey and online focus groups, the discussion examines public confidence in the rule of law amid today’s challenges to democracy. You can access the PowerPoint and companion report below.
Overview
Most governments suffer from delusions of permanence. The United States is no different. The ability of any democratic government to persist involves a consensus on the part of its citizens about the ideals and values of its culture. Americans’ beliefs about the U.S. government -- how it works now and how it should work ideally -- can be an important indicator of the health of our democracy.
How do Americans feel about the fundamental rights and principles enshrined in the United States Constitution? How do Americans feel our current President, Congress, and the Supreme Court are doing in upholding the Constitution? Are Americans turning away from the values of a democracy in favor of an authoritarian form of government? To answer these questions, and to better understand the public’s views on recent changes and challenges to the rule of law in this country, the Online Courtroom and the Trust in Justice Projects recently conducted a national survey with Ipsos and a series of online focus groups. The results of that survey and those focus groups are presented in this report along with an analysis of those results.