Did you hear about Clarence Thomas? Measuring public attention toward the Supreme Court

Abstract

Research shows that U.S. Supreme Court events garner media attention, but the extent of public engagement remains uncertain. We examine online engagements with Supreme Court coverage, spanning the periods before, during, and after a scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas drew broad media attention in April 2023. Analyzing internet browsing behavior of a nationally representative sample and Google Trends data, we discovered minimal interest in the Court prior to the scandal (3% seeking information). After the scandal, attention increased by 300% and stayed high for weeks. While Democratic participants were the most likely to seek out information about the Court following the scandal, we still observe strong effects among Republican participants, too. These results highlight how extra-judicial events draw attention to the Court and lead to lasting interest in it. Furthermore, our digital trace analysis of Supreme Court information seeking offers insights for scholars studying a variety of political topics.