Bar News - December 16, 2005
Poll on NH Courts: Highly Regarded, Although Not Well-Known
The following is a condensed version of a memo prepared by Andrew E. Smith, director of The Survey Center, University of New Hampshire, summarizing the results of a survey of NH adults conducted in August 2005 for the New Hampshire Citizens Commission for the State Courts.
Purpose, Method of the Survey
Determine through sampling:
- New Hampshire residents’ knowledge about the court system;
- their attitudes about the courts
- the views of citizens who have had recent experience with the court system.
Over the telephone, 765 individuals, reached at random, were interviewed, using a survey that was similar to a national survey conducted by the National Center for the State Courts in 2000. Comparisons to the national survey are referenced.)
Overall, New Hampshire citizens interviewed don’t know how the courts in their community handle legal cases.
- Depending on the type of case, between one-third and one-half of respondents said they were “not familiar” or “didn’t know” how well cases are handled. This is significantly higher than the national response.
- Those who are familiar with how local courts handle cases ranked the courts higher than the national survey responses.
This lack of knowledge is based on lack of experience with the courts.
- Only 13 percent of New Hampshire residents interviewed had had personal experience in a court in the past year, either as a defendant, a plaintiff, witness, or as a juror. This compares to 38 percent nationally.
- 61 percent of New Hampshire residents surveyed have never had any personal involvement with the courts. This compares to 37 percent nationally.
Those with experience with the courts generally rate them well.
- People who have had experience with the courts in the last year rated them higher at handling of cases than people who had not been in court.
New Hampshire courts are perceived to be more fair than courts nationwide
- 48 percent of New Hampshire residents interviewed said that people always or usually receive fair outcomes when they deal with the courts, compared to 38 percent nationally. Only 6 percent of New Hampshire residents interviewed said people seldom or never receive fair outcomes, compared to 15 percent nationally.
- 58 percent of New Hampshire residents surveyed think the courts use fair procedures compared with 46 percent nationally.
Generally, New Hampshire residents think the courts treat people well.
- Responding to whether the courts treat people with dignity, fairness, consistency and other criteria, between 58 percent and 77 percent agreed “strongly” or “somewhat.”
- Note: Many respondents (between 10 percent and 27 percent) were unable to rate the courts in these areas, another indicator of their lack of knowledge of the Courts.
New Hampshire residents who have been in court rate the courts even higher.
- 83 percent of New Hampshire residents surveyed who had been in court in the past year observed that the courts treated people with dignity and respect. 72 percent said race or ethnicity made no difference.
- When compared to the rest of the country, New Hampshire courts scored lower on:
- perceptions of the fairness of procedures used
- perceptions that decisions were based on fact
- perceptions that the outcomes of procedures were fair.
New Hampshire residents don’t know how minorities and other groups are treated in court.
- When asked how minorities, fathers in custody cases and other individuals were treated in court, as many as 33 percent simply didn’t know.
- Of the remaining respondents, about a third thought these parties were sometimes treated worse than others.
- Compared to national results, New Hampshire residents are less likely to think that members of these groups are treated worse than others.
- The group most likely to be treated worse than others, according to New Hampshire residents interviewed, were fathers in custody cases. Twenty-six percent thought they were always or usually treated worse.
New Hampshire residents generally agree that the courts should take on additional roles in dealing with societal problems.
- Between two-thirds and three-quarters think the courts should consider emotional problems when making decisions about people in court cases, should order a person to go back to court and talk to the judge about their progress in a treatment program, and should make sure local agencies provide help to people with drug abuse and/or alcohol problems.
- Only 54 percent think courts should hire drug treatment counselors and social workers as court staff members.
- Outside of New Hampshire, the responses to these questions were higher by an average of 12 percentage points.
New Hampshire residents’ personal experiences in court are largely positive.
Of those who had been in court in the past year:
- More than three-quarters said they were personally treated with dignity and respect, that their rights were taken into account, and that their views were considered.
- More than two-thirds said they were treated the same as everyone else and that they were able to make their views known.
- Compared to national results, New Hampshire residents consistently gave more positive responses about their personal treatment in court.
New Hampshire residents expect and anticipate fairness.
Of those who had been to court in the past year:
- Two-thirds said they expected the outcome of a future case would be very fair or somewhat fair.
- Nearly three-quarters think the judge in a future case will be very fair or somewhat fair.
- Note that these responses are identical to national numbers.
New Hampshire residents are more likely to return to court
While 61 percent of New Hampshire residents surveyed who had been in court in the past year said they would go to court again if faced with a similar issue; only 54 percent of national respondents would. However, one-third said they would not return to settle a similar dispute.
Timeliness and expense are issues
- When asked what improvements they would make to New Hampshire’s court system, the largest percentage (20 percent) said they would improve the timeliness of cases.
- When asked what might prevent them from going to court, those surveyed cited the cost of a lawyer (83 percent) and court costs and fees (76 percent) as the main reasons.
- More than half (53 percent) think it costs too much to bring a case to court and 43 percent think cases are not resolved in a timely manner.
Recent court issues have not had much impact on perceptions of New Hampshire Courts
- Only 20 percent of New Hampshire adults interviewed were very familiar with the Claremont decisions on school funding. Of those, 53 percent said these decisions have had no impact on their respect for the NH Supreme Court.
- Only 7 percent were very familiar with the impeachment and acquittal of former Chief Justice David Brock in 2000. Among those familiar with the Brock impeachment, 54 percent said it had no impact on their respect for the NH Supreme Court.
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