#4 in a Series Examining Every Item on the Beloit Mindset List

Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court. (Class of 2012, #22)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court. (Class of 2014, #67)

Stephen Breyer has always been an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. (Class of 2016, #36)

An August 2012 poll found that two-thirds of Americans couldn’t name any Supreme Court Justices. Sixteen percent of respondents named Clarence Thomas and 13% named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Stephen Breyer is the most obscure Justice; only 3% of respondents named him.

Cultural touchstones? Not so much.

Eder, Steve. 2012. “Most Americans Can’t Name a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Survey Says.” Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Aug. 20.