Likely Voters, NC Lawyers Share Common Ground On Judicial Elections, Trust In Federal Government
An overwhelming percentage of North Carolinians would rather elect their judges than have them appointed by state government, but they would prefer nonpartisan judicial elections, according to polling conducted recently on behalf of the North Carolina Bar Association.
In separate statewide surveys of likely general election voters and attorneys, respondents also indicated varying degrees of trust in the federal government and the court system. Lawyers trust the state courts more than likely voters, but lawyers and likely voters agree wholeheartedly that we need more judges. Likely voters and lawyers also believe that political parties in North Carolina have influence over North Carolina’s judges.
These and additional insights into the current mindset of likely voters and lawyers were provided through polling conducted in May by Cygnal, an award-winning polling and analytics organization based in Washington, D.C. The polling results formed the basis for the Judicial Independence Symposium that was conducted on Friday, June 24, during the NCBA Annual Meeting in Winston-Salem.
A total of 630 likely voters and 853 lawyers responded to the surveys, which were conducted via phone and email. The margin of error for likely voters surveyed was 3.85% and the margin of error for lawyers surveyed was 3.3%.
Below are highlights from the polling:
On two key questions that have been at the forefront of the judicial independence discussion for decades, 80.4% of likely voters said state judges should be elected by the voters, while 11.7% favored appointment by state government. Among lawyers, 52.2% favored election of state judges while 37.1% said judges should be appointed by state government. Regarding nonpartisan vs. partisan judicial elections, however, likely voters and attorneys responded similarly; 70.9% of likely voters and 75.6% of lawyers favored nonpartisan elections.
In two separate questions regarding appointment of judges, likely voters and lawyers differed on their preference when given the options of appointment by the Governor or the General Assembly, but they agreed on their preference of a Nonpartisan Commission when this third option was provided. Responding to the question regarding appointment of judges by the Governor or the General Assembly, 52.1% of likely voters favored the General Assembly and 22.6% favored the Governor, while 47.8% of lawyers favored the Governor and 32.3% favored the General Assembly.
When offered the choice of appointment of judges by the Governor, General Assembly or a Nonpartisan Commission, 63.1% of likely voters favored the Nonpartisan Commission, 17% favored the General Assembly, and 7.9% favored the Governor. Attorneys responded similarly, with 71% favoring the Nonpartisan Commission, 14.4% favoring the General Assembly, and 9.8% favoring the Governor.
Lawyers have greater trust in our courts. For instance, when asked if they believe outcomes are fair or unfair in North Carolina courts, 31% of likely voters said they were fair and 27.6% said they were unfair, but 12.4% said they were neither fair nor unfair and 29% were unsure. Lawyers were more decisive in their responses, with 65.3% deeming the courts to be fair, 14.5% deeming them unfair, and 10.6% deeming them neither fair nor unfair; only 9.5% of the attorneys said they were unsure.
When asked separate questions delineating between the appellate courts and the trial courts, lawyers again expressed greater trust in the courts than likely voters. When asked how much trust they have in the North Carolina Appellate Courts, 19.6% of lawyers said they have a great deal of trust, 58.9% said they have a fair amount, and 16.2% said not very much. Among likely voters, 7.6% said they have a great deal of trust, 43.6% said they have a fair amount, and 30.8% said not very much.
When asked how much trust they have in North Carolina’s Trial Courts, 29.6% of lawyers said they have a great deal of trust, 52.3% said they have a fair amount, and 13.8% said not very much. Among likely voters, 7.8% said they have a great deal of trust, 44.1% said they have a fair amount, and 31% said not very much.
Delving deeper into the fairness question, likely voters felt more strongly than lawyers that wealth and social status, and a defendant’s race, impact court outcomes in North Carolina. On the question of how much impact a defendant’s wealth and social status have on the outcome of a matter, 51.5% of likely voters said they have a great deal and 25.4% said a fair amount, whereas 36.4% of lawyers said a great deal and 37.6% said a fair amount. Combining these two responses shows that roughly three-fourths of likely voters and lawyers believe wealth and social status have an impact.
Sentiments regarding the impact of a defendant’s race on court outcomes in North Carolina also ran stronger among likely voters than lawyers, but overall the majority of likely voters and lawyers believe a defendant’s race is a factor. Among likely voters, 38.6% said it has a great deal of impact while 22.7% said it has a fair amount; among lawyers, 21.8% said race has a great deal of impact while 35.3% said it has a fair amount.
Likely voters and lawyers agreed strongly that political parties in North Carolina have influence over North Carolina’s judges. Among likely voters, 34.7% believe political parties have a great deal of influence while 39.5% believe there is a fair amount of influence. Among lawyers, 32.7% believe political parties have a great deal of influence while 42.1% believe there is a fair amount of influence.
Participants were informed that North Carolina currently has one trial judge for every 27,632 citizens. Presented with this information, 69.2% of likely voters and 63.8% of lawyers responded that there are not enough judges, while 15.1% of likely voters and 27% of attorneys believe there are. Similarly, when asked if North Carolina’s court system operates too slowly, at about the right speed, or too fast, 60.6% of likely voters and 65.5% of lawyers said that it moves too slowly, while 12.6% of likely voters and 25.8% of lawyers believe it operates at about the right speed.
A majority of likely voters do not trust the federal government, but they trust the federal Judicial Branch and the U.S. Supreme Court far more than they trust the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch. Lawyers also have more trust in the Judicial Branch.
Among likely voters, 48.1% said they either had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the Judicial Branch, while 50.9% said they trusted this branch not very much or none at all. Among lawyers, 64.6% said they place a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the judiciary while 35.3% said they trusted this branch not very much or none at all.
Only 22.2% of likely voters said they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the Legislative Branch, while 76.3% said they trusted the Legislative Branch not very much or none at all. Among lawyers, 21.8% expressed a great deal or a fair amount of trust in Congress while 77.9% said they trusted the Legislative Branch not very much or none at all. The Executive Branch fared slightly better, with 37.9% of likely voters expressing a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the President and his administration while 60.9% said they trusted the Executive Branch not very much or none at all. Among lawyers, 54% expressed a great deal or a fair amount of trust in Congress while 45.7% said they trusted the Executive Branch not very much or none at all.
The North Carolina Bar Association will provide additional insight into the polling results in the future. A PDF of the information discussed in this article is accessible here.