What explains differences in how people perceive the courts?
People who have trust and confidence in the courts believe that courts reach decisions through fair procedures. Other factors, such as the perceived fairness of court decisions or the efficiency of court operations, are less important as explanations for who has and who does not have trust and confidence in the courts. Recent research concludes, “Demographic variables are not particularly useful in specifying factors of the kind of person likely to be dissatisfied with government” (Hibbing and Theiss-Morse, 2001:150). Demographic variables include race, ethnicity, age, and gender. All demographic groups use a common set of criteria in deciding what is fair. And the key criterion by which members of the public evaluate the courts (and other institutions) is the fairness of the procedures used to reach decisions. Differences in confidence in the courts across racial and ethnic groups or other characteristics can be attributed in large measure to differences between those groups in how th
