NCJ Number
209865
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2005 Pages: 81-97
Date Published
March 2005
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined multiple measures explaining public evaluations of court system fairness for differences among race/ethnicity and gender.
Abstract
Recent research has suggested that the public opinion toward criminal justice and the court system in particular is influenced by procedural justice and discrimination. Other research has indicated that race and gender have mixed effects on perceptions of the court system. The current study drew on a national probability sample of the general United States public to examine whether models that explain perceptions of court system fairness were the same for race/ethnicity and gender. Data were drawn from the National Center for State Courts’ study on Public Opinion on the Courts in the United States (2002). Variables under consideration included evaluations of local courts, performance of local courts, perceived discrimination, fairness of treatment in court, race, gender, and the control measures of education, income, and age. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that both fairness of treatment and perception of performance played an important role in citizen’s evaluations of courts. The subsample analysis indicated that fairness of treatment impacted evaluations of courts equally for Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, males, and females. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of improving public attitudes’ toward the court and in terms of improving the standing of elected court officers. Future research should continue probing this topic using larger samples and longitudinal data. Tables, notes, references