Forty-four percent. That is the current Supreme Court's approval rating according to recent polling by Marquette Law School. But that number doesn't tell the full story. Currently 68% of Republicans approve of the Court, compared to only 26% of Democrats polled. Why the vast disparity between political parties? Well, "to consider the Supreme Court of the United States strictly as a legal institution," the late Robert Dahl warned, "is to underestimate its significance in the American political system." Those words, written 65 years ago, appear more relevant now than ever.