Public Opinion on the Courts in the United States, 2000

This study centered on two questions fundamental to understanding public opinion about the courts: (1) Do African Americans, Latinos, and Whites view the state courts differently? and (2) What impact did recent direct court experience have on people's opinions about state courts? Between March 22, 2000, and May 3, 2000, interviewers conducted 1,567 telephone interviews with randomly selected United States residents. Variables include respondents' gender, race, age, education, and other demographic information, respondents' perception of the fairness of local courts, including whether African Americans and Latinos were discriminated against, whether the respondent or a member of the respondent's household had been involved with the courts in the past 12 months, and if so, how fairly that case was conducted.