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Report: 10% of college graduates think Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court

Posted at 10:05 AM, Jan 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-20 12:06:22-05

WASHINGTON — Nearly 10% of college graduates surveyed in a poll believe Judith Sheindlin, best known as “Judge Judy,” serves on the Supreme Court.

Sheindlin is an American lawyer made popular as the judge on a court show by the name of “Judge Judy.” The show features Sheindlin handling small disputes in a courtroom, but Sheindlin does not serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

The poll, conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni in August 2015 but released in January 2016, concluded from the 1,000 surveyed that college graduates “are alarmingly ignorant of America’s history and heritage.”

The survey also found 28.4% of college graduates correctly identify the father of the Constitution as James Madison. About 59% of college students surveyed believe the father of the Constitution was Thomas Jefferson, who was actually the principal writer for the Declaration of Independence.

It also found that almost 60% of college graduates couldn’t correctly identify a requirement for ratifying a constitutional amendment and 40% of college graduates didn’t know that Congress has the power to declare war.

Additionally, the poll revealed that less than 50% of college graduates surveyed know that presidential impeachments are tried before the U.S. Senate.