And what percentage of Americans can name their Representative. . .

Does it count when I sadly wrote the fat guy in the middle for Kennedy and the Spanish one for Sotomayer? I am getting old...

What's the percentage of lawyers in this country? I hope it is less than 1%.

"if you can correctly name all nine Supreme Court justices -- a feat I don't consider especially difficult -- you're part of just 1% of the country."

With so many ignorant/apathetic citizens, it makes me wonder whether democracy is, in fact, the best form of government.

(Joe Wingnut: We don't live in a democracy. We live in a republic!)

Eight of nine ... damn it ... I missed Stevens.

If you really want to challenge people, ask them to name their state representatives, city councilmen, etc.

What's a Supreme Court? Sounds like some IslamoSocialist Nazi Communist organization. he only Supreme being in this country is God ..you know the guy that wrote them tablets.

A democracy depends on a well educated voting population. Maybe that's a part of the problem.

This poll sure would be more entertaining if asked of Tea Baggers.

"I don't know who these Supremos are, but I'm against them because I want my country back!!!"

Jamie nails it. Of course, Republicans continue their efforts to dismantle and in some cases are actively seeking to remove entirely all government support of education. The decline of Social Studies (it's got the word SOCIAL in it!) has led to results such as these, but on a more fundamental level misunderstanding or complete lack of knowledge about (what used to be) elementary items, such as what each branch of government can and cannot do, what rights we have (for now), and especially how our nation was founded and why it was founded.

Republicans count on an uniformed, or more correctly, misinformed populace. They strive to reinvent history to make their criminal pursuits seem palatable, if not "American." Ignorant people vote Republican, after all.

Breyer was the tough get for me, but I did get him eventually without peeking. I do think the poll results say more about people's readiness to compete on Jeapordy than on their participation in democracy. Knowing your rights is more important than knowing names of people you can't vote for or against.

7 out of 9. I forgot Breyer and Stevens, probably because I usually agree with them, and their opinions don't piss me off.

Oddly enough I could name 6 judges on the US Supreme Court and yet cannot name a single person on my own Supreme Court of Canada (Beverley Something is one of them...I think). And yet the Canadian Court has been FAR more activist than its American counterpart in the last 30 years (It was the court and not Parliament that ended marriage discrimination for example).

Just another subtle reminder of how different our political cultures are I guess.

Yep, I'm old too so I welcomed the challenge as a measure of how close Alzheimers is. Got 8 pretty quick and then couldn't take the frustration when I couldn't summon the guy with the name that begins with P or B...Breyer! I peeked.

If you're the Republican Party, this is good news. The more uninformed the electorate, the better their chances.

I see things like this, and I think that "Brave New World" already happened, without the in-vitro "decanting."

Got all nine, after wracking the brain to come up w/Stevens. Thanks due to C-SPAN which recently aired an in-depth "behind the scenes" series on the Court, complete w/interviews of the Justices. (Working in the legal industry and reading newspapers and blogs also helps.)

The results for the general public don't surprise me.

The least known justice in the poll was Clinton appointee Stephen Breyer.

Yeah, he doesn't make much of an impression. He was the last one I got. I also tend to mix up Kennedy & Stevens, but that won't be a problem much longer.

I don't know. It's not terribly hard, but it's also not really a good measure of the quality of citizen you're talking to. After all, I can always look up a judge's name if I forget it. I'd rather have citizens who looked into issues they can directly vote on, and a detailed history of how their representative voted on issues. Of course, I don't get that either.

Steve, couldn't you have printed all nine names upsidedown at the bottom of the post? It's killing me not knowing.

Joe Wingnut: We don't live in a democracy. We live in a republic!

It has higher levels of Corruption and hasn't discovered Recycling yet, but at least the Senate tends not to interfere when you declare war on someone.

Also, it's not a wingnutty thing to point out that we do live in a republic. We vote for representatives who generally suss out the business of government for us. That's a republic by definition. If politician is a job category and not a description of every private citizen, you live in a republic. Both require a certain engagement on the part of average citizens, but only one expects that an average citizen can walk into the halls of government and directly legislate.

And I don't know their individual names, but I do know that Diana Ross in the one out front. Duh!

every answer is technically wrong unless it has "Inc." following the name

A while ago, my daughter had to do a biography project (2nd grade). She did hers on Thurgood Marshall. Most of the other moms looked at me blankly when I shared that information. I found it dismaying that people didn't recognize the name of such a giant.
But then, maybe I focus on the Supremes too much - I can name all 9 of them, though it took me 30 seconds to remember that Stevens hasn't retired yet.

Is Earl Warren still alive?

Since we're keeping score, I'll brag that I'm very familiar with all nine. I took a business law class in college where the instructor encouraged us to be "court watchers." I always remembered that, and I am.

As a court watcher, when I read news reports of a SCOTUS decision and the votes for and against, I can almost always correctly determine how each justice voted without looking.

For example, if it's a ruling I like and the decision is 7-2, I know that Scalia and Thomas voted against. If it's a ruling I like and the decision is 8-1, I know that Thomas voted against 99 percent of the time (sometimes it's actually Stevens who voted against). If it's 5-4 and I like the ruling, I know which five voted for (Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Soutomayor, Kennedy). If it's 5-4 and I don't like the decision, then Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas voted for it.

It appears that most decisions are 5-4. Some are 7-2 or 8-1 (with either Thomas or Stevens voting against). It's rare that we'll see a 6-3 decision with this court (I don't know if it has or will ever happen.)

(By the way, when I hear that a Supreme Court Justice cringes at the State of the Union when a Democratic President is speaking, I know that it was Alito.)

7 of 9 in nine seconds (no coffee yet), but Jaime gets it right. Jefferson wrote: "No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity." We see today what happens in a democracy after 30 years of spurning education (I'm looking at you, Ronnie, and your hatred of the UC system where people dared to ask questions!) and eight years of an abject incurious refusal to reference anything other than the gut -- a tradition for which La Palin is the new and shameless standard bearer.

"it's not a wingnutty thing to point out that we do live in a republic."

It is a "wingnutty thing" to say that we don't live in a democracy. To say that "we don't live in a democracy; we live in a republic" is equivalent to saying "I'm not eating a piece of fruit;I'm eating an apple."

Those results are indeed appalling, but
you do this for a living Steve, of course naming all 9 doesn't seem tough to you.

Being unable to name all, or even most, of the justices doesn't really speak that badly of anyone. Not even being able to name even one, however, is beyond embarrassing and frightening.

I can name all nine easily. That and two and a half bucks will get me a (bad) cup of coffee and way too many sleepless nights for knowing way too much about how screwed/screwed up this country is.

I'm thinking that the people who know, say, four or five are well informed enough to make decent public policy decisions but not politically geeky enough to be in a state of worry all the time. I'm shooting for medium ignorance from now on.

@Chris, a professional court-watcher said recently that he's been the deciding vote on so many decisions, this can rightly be called the Kennedy Court.

It's easy, you just need proper mnemonic devices. For example, I remember four of them by just thinking of the word RATS.

Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia.

RATS.

Got all 9. Now will Scotty beam me up?

Marketing 101 for future Sotomayors

Clarence Thomas is the most well known justice but could be named by only 19 percent of Americans.

Bait your steel traps with pubic hairs.

9. No wonder so many people seem stupid. Just watch that movie with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, 2 Weeks Notice, where he tells her to name all 9. However that was before Sotomayor, so Souter is on her list.

chrenson @ 12:07...

mary wilson and florence ballard. barry gordy replaced ballard witn cindy birdsong in 1970.

Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter were both named as members of the high court, despite having already retired.

Technically, they are still members of the Court -- they are just not "active" members. They still sit on the Courts of Appeals. For example, Justice O'Connor just released an opinion for the Ninth Circuit respecting the constitutionality on certain restrictions on voting by convicts in Arizona. The opinions list her as "Associate Justice O'Connor" and with a footnote reading "The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (Ret.), sitting by designation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 294(a)."

I wish I could recall the name of the comedian who had the following bit, from the early 90s:

"America is not a serious country." (crowd is a little alienated) "No, we're not serious. Americans are not a serious people. (murmurs start, beginning of boos.) I'll prove it to you. Who is more important to us, than our veterans -- those who sacrifice so much for our freedom? Freedom isn't free, right? Who sacrificed to give us that freedom, huh? That's right, our veterans. And nothing is too good for them, right?' (crowd, still alienated, makes belligerantly affirmative noises)

'Okay -- so what's the name of the Secretary for Veterans Affairs?' (silence)

"Alright -- what was the name of the pig on Green Acres?'

(crowd shouts) "Arnold!"

Let's see now... Earl Warren, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Judge Wapner, Judge Judy, Colonel Sanders, Captain Crunch, Flip Wilson, and Glenn Beck.

Amirite?

I wish I were more surprised. I can usually name all nine justices, but sometimes I forget the chief justice's name. Yeah, it's the "Roberts court" now, but he makes almost no impression on me. (The lucky bastard was in the right place at the right time, already nominated for a court post when Rehnquist toppled over and opened up the top spot.) The gang of Scalia, Thomas, and Alito are all too easy to remember.

I'm pretty sure I can name eight, and a likely ninth: Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Ginsberg, Sotomayor, Breyer, and coming soon, Kagan.

(My representative is David Dreier, to my eternal disappointment.)

Eight. I too forgot Breyer.

jvwalt:

You forgot Judge Dredd and Pigmeat Markham.

If you're so smart, Benen, can you name The Seven Dwarfs? Or The Seven Deadly Sins?

Lust, Avarice, Vice, Envy, Doc, Grumpy and Dopey.

I also came up with 8 and missed Breyer. Dude needs to speak up a little more :)

Same as Kris.
Breyer and Stevens missed. They're pretty low profile.

If it's a timed test, does it help I got the 7 in about 30 seconds?

Ugh..couldn't think of Thomas. As an African-American I think I was trying to forget he's not serving.

I can never remember the Spanish lady's name, but otherwise, I assure you that conservatives know full well who's on the court.

And we have every intention of stopping the steep slide to the left by whatever means necessary.

I keep thinking Warren Burger and Felix Frankfurter are still on the court, but that's probably because I'm hungry.

i understand the "this is a good trivial pursuit question, but isn't really indicative of good citizenship" line of thinking but I have to disagree.

that argument would hold up better were I not so sure that 2/3rd of Americans could name at least one American Idol judge, and probably more. it isn't that knowing all 9 Supremes by name is all that critical, it is what our choices on what we do learn/follow/know say about us as a citizenry that is troubling.

it isn't that knowing all 9 Supremes by name is all that critical, it is what our choices on what we do learn/follow/know say about us as a citizenry that is troubling.

And people don't even have the "But they're not an entertainment train wreck so they're too boring for me" excuse. Scalia's temper tantrums are legendary, and if Thomas's Coca-Cola cans weren't tailor-made for the prurient tastes of the American viewing public, what is?

I got 8 out of 9 in about 10 seconds. Like others, I got stuck on Stephen Breyer, I'm afraid to say. Is he the stealth justice, or what???

I pride myself on keeping current on all political matters and government policy....but I couldn't recall Stephen Breyer. Maybe he could appear on The Jersey Shore or a celebrity rehab show?

9/9... I have no life. :o(

Just shows to go you that pubic hair on a Coke can IS memorable.

How does one possibly benefit by memorizing the names of justices or representatives? Cool party trick. But seriously, in the extremely rare situation where you need to know the names of these people, just look it up.

"if you can correctly name all nine Supreme Court justices -- a feat I don't consider especially difficult -- you're part of just 1% of the country."

That's funny, not only can I name all nine, I can name all 20 amino acids and draw their structures, a feat I don't consider especially difficult. Can you? Or are we both just being smug jackasses picking facts from our respective fields that we deem relevant? You do after all write for a column titled "Political Animal." Shock, you know some basic facts about politics.

The rest of the article seemed relevant at least, you might consider keeping the smug out next time because it is sad that many people cannot name one.

Ideally, we would not need to be able to name any of them since they would matter so little. Hasten that day!

Why can't we vote for Supreme Court Justices?Most states have voting for the robes?It just annoys me that Kagan and Sotomayor will be sitting where Learned Hand and Felix Frankfurter sat.

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