The Supreme Court is Americans' favorite branch of government - at least until it hands down a controversial ruling - according to a Gallup poll conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 2.
The court has a 61 percent approval rating, while the president is at 54 percent and Congress is 31 percent, Gallup said.
"The improved ratings of the Supreme Court evident in 2009 are the result of surging approval from Democrats and slightly improved ratings from independents," Gallup said. "Republicans' support for the court is lower than it was a year ago, but not by nearly as much as the increase seen among Democrats."
Fifty percent of those responding to the poll say the court is ideologically "about right," while 28 percent say it's too liberal, and 19 percent say it is too conservative.
"One reason public attitudes toward the court have improved over the past year could simply be that Americans are feeling more positive about government in general," Gallup said. "An absence of highly controversial Supreme Court decisions during the last term - like those that created a backlash against the court in other years - may also be a factor."
The poll was based in telephone interviews with 1,026 adults nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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