Americans have less confidence in the judicial system than at any time since Gallup has been polling on the subject. 

Its latest survey showed just 35% of those polled are confident in the judiciary and courts — a record low and down from 60% in 2020.

From 2006 to 2020, Americans’ thoughts about the court system were similar to other developed countries, with the majority expressing confidence. That started to change four years ago, when the U.S. began to diverge from other wealthy nations on the issue.

Gallup noted the 24-point decline in confidence was “among the steepest Gallup has measured globally on this metric.”

Other countries that experienced sharp drops in judicial confidence include Myanmar when it returned to military rule in 2021, Venezuela when it plummeted into economic and political turmoil from 2012 to 2016 and Syria just prior to the beginning of its civil war from 2009 to 2013.

The U.S. declines were driven by individuals who disapprove of President Joe Biden’s leadership, though confidence levels among those who approve of Biden also fell sharply in 2024. Gallup said the legal cases against President-elect Donald Trump were likely factors.

Among Democrats, trust in the federal judicial branch fell from 50% to 25% after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and increased to 71% among Republicans.

“This year marks the first time on record that judicial confidence among those approving of U.S. leadership has ever dipped below 60%, and the first time that confidence in the courts has been below 50% among both those who approve and those who disapprove of U.S. leadership, a double whammy pushing the national figure to its lowest in two decades,” Gallup said in a statement.