Better Know a Justice! A Supreme Court Cheat Sheet

According to a new poll, two thirds of Americans can't name a single member of the Court. Meanwhile, these people are more powerful than they've been in a long time.

Front (L to R): Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Back (L to R): Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, and Elena Kagan

 It's the second half of August, which means it's the time for vacations, political scandals, and polls about how ignorant hundreds of millions of Americans are about even the most basic questions of modern governance. As to topic three, this week's leader in the clubhouse is a new poll that reveals that two-thirds of all Americans can't name a single justice of the United States Supreme Court. This after a Court term which was one of the most profound and contentious of its generation.

Chief Justice John Roberts led the way in name recognition -- but only one in five respondents could name him. At the bottom of the list was Justice Stephen Breyer, the Clinton appointee identified by only 3 percent of those surveyed. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote who decides so many of those critical 5-4 cases? Only one in ten could identify him. Do yourself a favor. Right after you read the piece about the poll, read Adam Liptak's interesting piece from Monday in The New York Times.

Read the rest here.