A heavily publicized U.S. Supreme Court reversal of an appeals court ruling by Judge Sonia Sotomayor has at least temporarily diminished public support for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the two nights following the Supreme Court decision, finds that 37% now believe Sotomayor should be confirmed while 39% disagree.

Two weeks ago, the numbers were much brighter for the nominee. At that time, 42% favored confirmation, and 34% were opposed.

Rasmussen Reports has been tracking this question every other week, and it is not possible to know at this time if the decline in support is anything more than a temporary aberration caused by the publicity surrounding the Supreme Court reversal. Sotomayor was one of a panel of federal Appeals Court judges who signed off on the Ricci decision, rejecting the claims of New Haven firefighters who said they were being discriminated against for promotions because they are white.

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Despite the decline in support, 84% of the nation’s voters still expect Sotomayor to be confirmed. That figure includes 58% who say her confirmation is Very Likely.

Republicans have indicated a desire to slow the confirmation process down and recently have cited the need to review hundreds of pages of new documents recently provided to the Senate.

Democrats now favor confirmation by a four-to-one margin while Republicans are opposed by a three-to-one margin. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 23% favor confirmation, and 49% are opposed.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of liberal voters favor confirmation while 63% of conservatives are opposed.

The initial reaction to Sotomayor was more positive than the reaction to those nominated for the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush. Bush’s nominees also experienced declines in support at times during the confirmation process.

Overall, 38% of voters have a favorable opinion of Sotomayor, down 12 points from before the Supreme Court reversal.

Forty-six percent (46%) believe that Sotomayor is politically liberal while 32% view her as a moderate.

The nominee has been criticized for comments suggesting that a “wise Latina woman” would make better judicial decisions than a white male. In response to that criticism, the president has said that Sotomayor "misspoke." Americans overwhelmingly believe that judges of different gender and ethnic backgrounds would reach the same decisions if they honestly tried to apply the law as written.

Eighty-three percent (83%) believe that the U.S. legal system should treat all Americans equally. Only eight percent (8%) believe the law should be used to help those with less power and influence.

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