The New York State Residents Survey - Center for Court ...

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A Project of the Fund for the City of New York

The New York State Residents Survey

Public Perceptions of New York's Courts

By Donald J. Farole, Jr.

September 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

iii

Chapter 1. Introduction

1

Chapter 2. General Public Perceptions about New York State Courts

2

Chapter 3. Public Knowledge about and Experience with the Courts

11

Chapter 4. Factors Related to Overall Approval of New York's Courts

16

Chapter 5. Other Areas of Court Performance

18

Chapter 6. Courts and Communities

19

Appendix A. Variables Included in Multivariate Analyses

22

Appendix B. Survey Questionnaire

24

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The New York State Residents Survey was designed by the Center for Court Innovation and conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. The survey was conducted among a random sample of New York State residents and was intended to investigate public perceptions about the courts. The specific objectives of the survey were:

To measure public trust and confidence in the courts among New York State residents; To determine key demographic and other respondent characteristics affecting trust and

confidence, in order to identify areas of focus for efforts to enhance public trust in the future; and To determine residents' knowledge of and experiences with the court system.

Key Findings The key findings are described below. Note that these findings are generally consistent with those of surveys conducted in other states and nationally, meaning that New York State residents' attitudes reflect commonly-held opinions about state courts and are not unique to New York's court system.

1. New Yorkers express high levels of trust and confidence in the courts in general. Racial and ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans, are far less supportive of the courts than are whites.

New Yorkers express high levels of trust and confidence in the courts and the courts fare well compared to other public institutions.

o Seven in ten (71%) are "very" or "somewhat" confident in the courts in their local community, and two in three (65%) in the New York State court system. The ratings are significantly higher than for public schools (59%) and the media (49%), for example. Only local police (78%) fare better.

o African-Americans (56%) are less likely to express confidence in local courts than Hispanics (68%) and far less likely than whites (75%).

Whereas general confidence in the courts is high, courts receive lower ratings for their performance in specific areas.

o When asked to rate local court handling of six specific types of cases, no type received positive marks from the majority of residents. Family relations (35% "excellent" or "good" rating) and juvenile delinquency (33%) received particularly low marks.

o Half (51%) of state residents rate the overall performance of local courts as either "excellent" or "good." However, nearly as many (46%) rate it as only "fair" or "poor."

o Overall performance ratings vary markedly by race and ethnicity. While six in ten (59%) whites rate court performance as "excellent" or "good," only half (47%) of Hispanics and just one in three (31%) African-Americans feel the same way.

Executive Summary

Page iii

2. Fairness matters.

Perceived fairness of court procedures and outcomes are, by far, the most important factors predicting overall approval of New York courts.

o Perceptions of procedural and outcome fairness together explain 42% of the difference in respondents' overall approval ratings.

o By contrast, race/ethnicity and several other demographic factors explain only 6% of the difference in respondents' overall approval ratings. In other words, the less positive evaluations of local courts among minority groups is due to their less positive perceptions of the fairness of the judiciary.

Local courts receive relatively strong ratings in terms of procedural fairness. The public is less positive in its evaluation of the results of case outcomes and the treatment of certain subgroups.

o About two in three respondents rate local courts positively with respect to having fair and honest judges (71% "strongly agree" or "agree"), treating people with dignity and respect (68%) and giving people the chance to be heard (68%).

o The public expresses concern about the fairness of case outcomes, with less than half (45%) believing people receive fair results either "nearly every time" or "more than half the time." Among African-Americans, only one in four (23%) feels this way.

o Three in four (75%) believe wealthy people receive "better treatment than others" from local courts, while 58% feel non-English speakers receive "worse treatment."

Many New Yorkers have negative perceptions about the relationship between courts and communities, and these perceptions influence views about judicial fairness--and hence approval of the courts overall.

o Nearly half (45%) "strongly agree" or "agree" that the "courts are out of touch with what is going on in their communities." Almost two in three (64%) AfricanAmericans hold this view.

o Less than half feel that courts "seek input and feedback from the community" (44%) or "educate the public about what courts do" (40%).

o Perceptions about court-community linkages are strong predictors of views about the fairness of court procedures and outcomes. Those more likely to believe courts are in touch with the community are more likely to believe courts are fair, and in turn to have positive perceptions of the courts overall.

3. Many New Yorkers know little about the courts.

Many New Yorkers report knowing little about local courts, with most information received primarily indirectly through the news media and entertainment sources.

o A substantial minority (37%) of New Yorkers say they know "a little" or "nothing at all" about the courts in their community; only 16% say they know "a lot" about them.

Executive Summary

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o Seven in ten (71%) report they have never needed to obtain information about local courts.

o When asked how often they receive information about courts from various sources, television news programs (71% get information "often" or "sometimes" from this source) and entertainment sources (53%) are among the most commonly cited. Only 26% report receiving information directly from the courts themselves.

Most New Yorkers have had personal involvement with the state courts. This involvement is associated with increased knowledge but not increased approval of the courts.

o Two in three (67%) said they have had personal involvement with New York State courts. Among those who had involvement, most reported either being called for jury duty but not selected (32%) or being selected to sit on a jury (26%).

o Those with direct experience are much more likely to describe themselves as knowledgeable about the courts in their community (69% report having either "a lot" or "some" knowledge vs. 51% for those without experience).

o However, those with direct experience are no more likely to approve of the performance of local courts than are those lacking such experience.

Conclusions

New Yorkers, overall, have positive perceptions of the courts. Clearly, other public institutions have more work to do to enhance trust and confidence than does the judiciary.

However, the relatively lower levels of approval among racial and ethnic minorities are notable. Hispanics and especially African-Americans have dramatically less positive views about the courts than do whites.

Enhancing public perceptions about fairness, both in court procedures and outcomes, is critical to efforts to increase approval for the courts. Perceptions of fairness are by far the most significant factors influencing overall approval, and explain the differing levels of support across racial and ethnic groups. Since views about court-community linkages are closely tied to perceptions of fairness, efforts to bring together courts and communities are among the most useful ways to enhance perceived fairness and, in turn, overall approval for the courts.

Judicial outreach should include public education and other efforts to enhance public access to information about the courts. Many New Yorkers have relatively little knowledge about the courts, and most do not receive information directly from the judiciary. One way to bring courts and communities together is to enhance opportunities for the public to receive information about New York's courts.

Executive Summary

Page v

Chapter 1. Introduction

The New York State Residents Survey was designed by the Center for Court Innovation and conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. The survey was conducted among a random sample of New York State residents and was intended to investigate public perceptions about the courts. The specific objectives of the survey were:

To measure public trust and confidence in the courts among New York State residents; To determine key demographic and other respondent characteristics affecting trust and

confidence, in order to identify areas of focus for efforts to enhance public trust in the future; and To determine residents' knowledge of and experiences with the court system.

To address these issues, a statewide survey was conducted among 1,002 adult residents 18 years of age. The interviews, averaging 15 minutes in length, were conducted by telephone between December 7th and December 21st, 2006. (The survey questionnaire may be found in Appendix B.) Respondents were selected to ensure that each region of the state was represented in proportion to its population. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish. The survey achieved an overall response rate of 41.6 %.

The results of the entire survey are statistically significant at ? 3.1%. For example, if 50% of survey respondents provide a particular answer to a question, we have 95% confidence that the actual population percentage falls between 47% and 53%. Note that the margin of error increases when looking at differences in responses to the same question across subgroups. The margin of error can also vary across specific questions. Throughout this report, differences in findings (e.g., across questions or across subgroups) are discussed only if they are statistically significant.

Variables Included in the Analysis Several questions from this survey were derived from previous public opinion surveys about state courts. In addition to presenting percentage responses to individual questions, some questions are combined into multi-item scales. Measurement based on scales is beneficial because it relies less on the wording of a single question and can reflect multiple aspects of broad concepts.

Specifically, three multi-item scales were developed to measure overall approval of courts, perceptions regarding the fairness of court procedures, and court-community linkages. Each scale meets conventional standards of reliability, which means that the questions all measure aspects of the same general phenomenon. The scales are described in Appendix A.

Description of the Survey Sample Survey respondents are representative of the entire New York State population with respect to location of residence within the state as well as various demographic factors, as described in the table below. All percentages reflect the distributions within the entire New York State adult population (within the survey's ? 3.1% margin of error).

Chapter 1.

Page 1

Location of Residence

New York City

Suburbs of New York City

42%

Upstate

20%

38%

Gender

Male

47%

Age

Under 45

52%

Race/Ethnicity

White

African-American

61%

Hispanic

13%

Other

14%

8%

Education

College graduate

36%

Household Income

Less than $25,000

$25,000-$50,000

29%

$50,000-$75,000

25%

$75,000 or more

19%

28%

Note on Reading Tables Percentages may not always add up to 100% because of rounding, the acceptance of multiple answers from respondents, or the exclusion of "unsure" and "refuse to answer" responses from the tables.

Public Release of Survey Findings This survey, and all surveys conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, is designed to comply with the code and standards of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the code of the National Council of Public Polls (NCPP). If data from the survey is to be released to the public, the release must stipulate that the complete report is also available.

Chapter 1

Page 2

Chapter 2. General Public Perceptions about New York State Courts

Most state residents express confidence both in the courts in their community and in the New York State court system (the former attracts slightly more positive ratings than the latter). The courts fare well compared to other public institutions. [Exhibit 1].

Exhibit 1: Confidence in Public Institutions

Local Police/County Sheriff Courts in your community

New York State court system Public schools The media

New York State legislature

78 71 65 59 49 48

0

20

40

60

80

100

% Very/Somewhat confident

However, significant differences in confidence emerge based on respondent race and ethnicity [Exhibit 2]. While African-Americans are less likely to express confidence in public institutions in most cases, the difference between African-American and white opinion is notable with respect to the courts. The percentage of African-Americans "very" or "somewhat" confident in their local courts is 19% lower than for whites (75% for whites vs. 56% for African-Americans). The comparable "gap" for the New York State court system is 17%. The only larger gap is in confidence in local police, where 29% fewer African-Americans than whites express confidence.

Chapter 2

Page 3

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