The Supreme Court opens its 2022 term on Oct. 3 with its lowest public approval rating in modern history, which the justices are acutely aware of. One reason is that the court issued some highly controversial decisions last term — most notably, the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

But this is only part of the story.

Other important political officials have tarnished Americans’ opinions of the court, and public trust in democratic institutions and processes has dropped more generally as well.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has weighed in to defend the recent rulings from the conservative majority, saying that those questioning the high court’s legitimacy have “crossed an important line.”

Alito, who penned the majority opinion that essentially sent the question of abortion access back to individual states, was asked by the Wall Street Journal whether overturning precedent threatens the Supreme Court’s legitimacy.

Public trust of the U.S. Supreme Court is at a record low, according to a Gallup poll published on Thursday.

Forty-seven percent of adults surveyed earlier this month said that they trust the court, 6 percentage points lower than the previous record low of 53 percent reported in 2015.

Last year, 54 percent of respondents said they had “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the court.

Job approval for the Supreme Court also dropped in the new poll, tying the previous record low of 40 percent.