Citizen Contact and Legal System Support

In: Social science quarterly, Band 58, Heft 1, S. 3-14

Abstract

The primary purpose here was to determine whether policy outputs & results are related to the level of public support for public institutions. Public attitudes toward the US Supreme Court, state courts, state correctional institutions, & the police were examined. Interviews with 1,146 adults across the stratified population of NC provided the sample. Stratification randomizations were for geographic location, race, age, & sex. The data indicated that public attitudes strongly support the legal system. They do not support correctional institutions & the Supreme Court to the same degree as the general legal system. Each aspect of the legal system appears to receive an individualized rather than generalized evaluation. The factors of race, age, & sex are not strongly associated with the level of support for the institutions. Contact effects on support were the most important determining factor. This study gives much evidence to suggest that the general public makes independent & diversified decisions & has multivaried opinions about different politico-legal structures, primarily as a result of personal experiences with some of the institutions. This supports the initial hypothesis that the level of support is based on policy outcomes & outputs. 4 Tables. A. Rothman.