Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters say the Supreme Court is doing a good or excellent job, the highest level found since last April.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that only 13% say the Court is doing a poor job, which ties the lowest level found in recent years.

For the past three months, 38% said the Supreme Court is doing a good or excellent job. Fifteen percent (15%) said the high court was doing a poor job last month, 13% said the same in January. In December, 17% thought the justices were doing a poor job. Back in April 2008, 43% have the court good or excellent ratings.

Though the high court receives better ratings from voters this month, more voters think the justices have their own political agendas. Fifty-nine percent (59%) now say this is true, a result that had been in the low 50’s for the past three surveys. Still, voters’ opinions are slightly more positive now than they were in September, when 61% said the justices have their own political agendas.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of pancreatic cancer, said at the end of last week that there will soon be an opening on the high court, prompting speculation of her resignation. Now that an appointment by President Obama is looking to be more of a reality, 40% of voters say his pick will be too liberal, while 43% say they will be about right. Only 6% fear Obama’s Supreme Court choices will be too conservative. Last month, 38% thought his picks would be too liberal, while 46% said they will be about right.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls.) Rasmussen Reports updates also available on Twitter.

Most voters (64%) still think decisions made by the Supreme Court should be based on what is written in the Constitution, and 51% say that is how the court currently operates. Only 29% say the justices’ decisions should be guided by fairness and justice, a method 25% think the court uses today.

When it comes to the president, more voters (43%) say Obama believes the justices should make ruling based on fairness and justice than what is written in the Constitution (32%) (see crosstabs).

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of likely voters say a candidate’s Supreme Court choices is an important factor in deciding how they will vote in an election, with 44% who say it is a very important factor. Those numbers have changed little since December, but are noticeably lower than those found during Election 2008.

Forty-two percent (42%) of Republican voters and 43% of Democratic voters give the high court good or excellent ratings, but 39% of unaffiliated voters do the same.

While 43% of conservative and moderate voters give the court good or excellent ratings, only 36% of liberal voters do the same. Eighteen percent (18%) of liberals say the Supreme Court is doing a poor job, along with 13% of conservatives and 11% of moderates.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free). (Updates also available on Twitter.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.