Poll: Majority of people believe SCOTUS is split into parties

A majority of Americans believe that the Supreme Court is split politically, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by C-SPAN and PSB, found 62% believed justices are "split on political grounds like Congress." Comparatively, 38% said the court acts in a "serious and constitutionally sound manner."

"Three in five Americans believe the high court is split into parties because they are presented no evidence to the contrary," PSB's Robert Green said in a statement. "The absence of TV cameras inside the Supreme Court for oral arguments has allowed others to define the court."

Green said allowing cameras for oral arguments would provide a counterbalance to other sources of information on the Supreme Court, including the president, Congress and the media.

According to the poll, 76% of Americans think the court should allow coverage of its oral arguments.

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"The public's perception of the court as partisan, political entity did not form overnight," Green said. "A direct line can be drawn between President Obama lecturing justices during his State of the Union address and later President Trump openly criticizing decisions and judges by name. The high court's decision to remain literally out of sight has hurt rather than helped their reputation and the legitimacy of many of their most controversial decisions."

When it came to the 2016 election, 82% said they took appointments to the court into consideration when they decided who to vote for in November. Additionally, 71% said they are following news about Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Former solicitors general Donald Verrilli and Paul Clement addressed the public's perception of the judicial branch during an event at Georgetown University Law Center on Friday. Verrilli, who stepped down last year after serving as solicitor general under Barack Obama for five years, called such beliefs a "shame." They have sharp divisions over their commitments to judicial philosophies and approach to law, not politics.

"They're sincerely held beliefs, and they're just different," he said.

Chief Justice John Roberts has worked hard to show that the court isn't political, it's about law, he said. "I think they're trying to push back on it."

He noted that some cases on technology and privacy — like the 2014 case in which the court unanimously ruled that cellphones and smartphones can't be searched without a warrant during arrests — are among the most consequential the court is considering these days, and they don't break down ideologically.

Clement, who was solicitor general under George W. Bush, called the Supreme Court "very healthy." But he noted that the court's refusal to have cameras or same-day audio had worked against it. Granting access to cameras or same-day audio would allow people to see or hear how the court works.

"I don't think that would be the end of the world," he said of same day audio.