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Citizen Evaluation Of The Louisiana Courts, Susan E. Howell

Survey Research Center Publications

The Louisiana survey consisted of two phases, a general survey of the public and an oversample of people who had used the court system within the past five years. This emphasis on the users of the courts (1307 were interviewed) is a unique aspect of the Louisiana study. Various types of court users, i.e., jurors, witnesses, civil litigants, defendants, etc., have significantly different evaluations of the court system. Predictably, people who have the most at stake in the outcome, such as victims, criminal defendants, and people in domestic disputes, are the most negative toward the courts. Jurors, court employees, and …