By Kevin Hanley

Questions over the legal practice of steering cases to sympathetic judges or courts, commonly called judge or court shopping, have sparked fierce debate in recent weeks. Conservative groups, Republican attorneys general, and corporate interests often aim to bring cases before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the most conservative federal appeals court in the nation.

Recent polling from Data for Progress identifies that a strong majority of voters across party lines oppose this practice, and furthermore illustrates that a majority of voters do not view criticisms of the judiciary or judges in particular as threatening to the rule of law.

After being presented with a brief description of judge or court shopping, 73% of likely voters say that judge or court shopping should not be an accepted practice in the United States legal system. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike respond similarly to this question, while young voters are slightly more accepting of judge or court shopping (30% say it should be an accepted practice).