grounded in the rule of law." A poll conducted in June 2012 by The New York Times and CBS News showed just 44% of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing. Three-quarters said justices' decisions are sometimes influenced by their political or personal views. One study, using four-year panel data, found that public opinion of the Supreme Court was highly stable over time. Criticism and controversies The Supreme Court has been the object of criticisms and controversies on a range of issues. Among them: Democratic backsliding Thomas Keck argues that the Supreme Court has rarely provided an effective check against democratic abuses, especially at five major constitutional crises throughout US History, and finds signs that the Roberts Court seems to play an even more damaging role than most of its predecessors in undermining American democracy. He contends that Americans may already have permanent minority rule, but that a win for the independent state legislature theory in Moore v. Harper would confirm the need for court packing to try and save American democracy. Aziz Z. Huq argues that by blocking progress of democratizing institutions, increasing the disparity in wealth and power, and empowering an authoritarian white nationalist movement, that the Supreme Court has already created a "permanent minority" that is incapable of democratic defeat. Gifts and outside income The 21st century has seen increased scrutiny of justices accepting expensive gifts and travel. All of the members of the Roberts Court have accepted travel or gifts. In 2012, Justice Sonia Sotomayor received $1.9million in advances from her publisher Knopf Doubleday. Justice Scalia and others took dozens of expensive trips to exotic locations paid for by private donors. Private events sponsored by partisan groups that are attended by both the justices and those who have an interest in their decisions have raised concerns about access and inappropriate communications. Stephen Spaulding, the legal director at Common Cause, said: "There are fair questions raised by some of these trips about their commitment to being impartial." Additional concerns have been raised at the potential conflict of Justices being swayed through their spouses' method of income and connection to cases, as a majority of the information is redacted from the Justice's ethical disclosure forms. Increasing partisanship Unlike constitutional courts in most democracies and contrary to the ideal taught in civics classes, the U.S. Supreme Court appears to be an increasingly partisan institution. The partisan