If you can name all nine Supreme Court justices, I consider you well informed and worthy of attention. I will listen and consider all that you say.
For every justice you cannot name, I will think slightly less of your knowledge base, and therefore your opinions carry proportionally less weight with me.
If you forget Stephen Breyer, you may not be penalized at all. Everyone forgets that guy.
If you can’t name a single justice on the Supreme Court, I discount most of what you say, at least when it comes to politics and current events, and perhaps in other arenas as well.
If you don’t know that there are typically nine justices on the Supreme Court, forget it. You might as well not speak to me unless it’s about the weather.
If this seems harsh, I agree. It probably is. Remember: I have acknowledged that this is an unfair assumption.
You’re also not alone if your knowledge of the Supreme Court is lacking. In a recent Pew poll, only 39% of Americans were aware that there are typically nine justices on the Court, and two-thirds of Americans can’t name a single justice.
Not one.
Even worse, a poll released in January 2016 fielded by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni showed that about 10 percent of college graduates believed TV’s Judith Sheindlin (aka Judge Judy) is on the United States Supreme Court.
People are so stupid.
