I'd be interested to look at any studies (or even opinion pieces) that indicate either that confidence in the courts is remaining unchanged (compared either to recent or historical levels) or that it's increasing.

Agreed, that would be interesting to see if the methodology were sound. The problem is naturally that measuring "confidence in the courts" is almost inherently a methodologically difficult thing to do.

Additionally: shortage of confidence in the US Courts isn't a new thing. The reality of the US Courts system is: Money wins, and its been like this for the entire life of essentially all Americans alive today. This is, actually, rather convenient and good if you take the view that faith in the US courts system is a critical component of the US Dollar's global reserve status. If money controls the courts, and courts support the money, that's a pretty nice virtuous cycle. But, for the People; its been hit-or-miss for a long, long time.

The economy and markets of made of people with feelings. Perception is an important part.