The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has released its annual State of the State Courts survey results.  The survey results yielded valuable information on public trust, procedural fairness, and other critical areas.  This year’s survey results showed an increase  in the public’s trust in the courts, with four in five people having direct interaction with the court system expressing satisfaction in procedural fairness.

The survey was conducted among 1,000 respondents by telephone between November 14 – 17, 2016.  Survey findings are considered accurate 19 times out of 20.

Key findings of the survey include:

• There are signs of positive momentum in public trust — but innovation and technology concerns persist;
• A glaring lack of understanding about court funding is reflective of misperceptions about government spending generally;
• If courts lead on fines and fees reform, the public will follow;
• The public believes that the ethnicity of a judge may impact fairness.

For more detail on the survey findings, read this six-page summary from the pollster, or download the presentation slides.

The NCSC also surveyed public opinion in previous years, and has archived the 2015 and 2014 survey results.