Remedying public disapproval of the Supreme Court: Expanding the role of the public information officer

Brown James (Ph.D. student) (2024). [Forthcoming] “Remedying public disapproval of the Supreme Court: Expanding the role of the public information officer,” Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy, 39(1).

Abstract: Current public opinion polling of the U.S. Supreme Court is at an all-time low with a startling 60% disapproval rating. Couple this statistic with the fact that the Court speaks to the public almost exclusively through elaborate official documents that almost no one but trained lawyers can understand, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the public is disenchanted with the Court in the wake of recent high-impact decisions such as Dobbs and Students for Fair Admissions. The explanation of these momentous decisions, among other rulings, to the public have been traditionally abdicated to the press, but with the modern landscape of American news media, this arrangement has become unsustainable if the Court wishes to get back to its traditionally healthy public opinion rating. This article suggests and explains a proposal for an expanded role of the Public Information Officer that includes similar duties to that of a press secretary to remedy their historically low public approval rating.