New Poll Shows Public Trust in State Courts on the Rise

More American voters are expressing trust and confidence in America’s state courts, according to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) annual State of the State Courts public opinion poll.

The December 2024 survey shows that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans express trust and confidence in America’s state courts. It’s the second consecutive year that the trust barometer has moved up.

“Public trust and confidence are the stock and trade of the courts,” said Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the D.C. Court of Appeals and co-chair of the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) Public Engagement, Trust, and Confidence committee. “It’s heartening to see this survey reflect that most Americans feel we are earning that trust. As national court leaders, we are committed to earning that confidence every day.”

NCSC has conducted an annual State of the State Courts survey since 2014. The most recent survey was conducted online in early December 2024 with 1,000 registered voters. It showed a promising stabilization of declining public trust in state courts and institutions generally. However, concerns about inequality, political bias, and inadequate services for litigants persist.

Positive signs for state courts and local institutions

Trust in court systems and institutions had been trending downward for several years. The survey showed precipitous drops in confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court (down 20 points from 2018 to 2020), federal courts (down 17 points during that time), and state courts (down 16 points during that time). But ratings for the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts stabilized in 2023 and remained steady in 2024, while the state courts showed small gains. Confidence ratings for local police departments and governors also gained slightly in 2024.

Overall, in 2024, 63 percent of respondents said they have a “great deal” or “some” confidence in state courts, with the highest ratings given by men (69 percent) and white respondents (65 percent).

A separate question rating the “job approval” of state courts also showed continued improvement. Fifty-four percent of respondents rated state courts’ performance as “excellent” or “good,” up from 44 percent in 2021. The rating increased most among Republicans (up 15 percent from 2023) and Independents (up 8 percent from 2023); it declined among Democrats (down 6 percent from 2023).

The 2024 survey also found that 63 percent of Americans agree that state courts are “committed to protecting individual and civil rights” and 59 percent agree that state courts “treat people with dignity and respect.”

CHARTS COURTESY NCSC STATE OF THE STATE COURTS 2024 POLL, CONDUCTED ONLINE DEC. 9–12, 2024, BY GBAO STRATEGIES; 1,000 REGISTERED VOTERS RESPONDED; MARGIN OF ERROR +/– 3.1% (19 TIMES OUT OF 20). AVAILABLE AT NCSC.ORG/SURVEY.

Opportunities for improvement

The survey points to several opportunities for improvement in state courts.

Nearly half (46 percent) of respondents said courts “are not doing enough to empower regular people to navigate the court system without an attorney.” Respondents who have had direct experience with the courts were even more likely to say the courts are not doing enough to help people.

Respondents expressed broad support for proposals to improve services to litigants, with 60 percent of respondents supporting the idea of allowing trained, licensed legal professionals without a law degree to handle straightforward legal issues. Similar percentages of respondents expressed support for using artificial intelligence to answer frequently asked questions and point users toward relevant information or required documents through a chatbot (63 percent support); translate court documents into other languages (64 percent support); transcribe court proceedings (64 percent support); and help make information easier to understand by eliminating legal jargon (71 percent support).

The survey found overwhelming support for increased state funding for problem-solving courts and programs, with 88 percent of respondents expressing some or strong support for veterans’ programs, 85 percent supporting guardianship programs, and 77 percent supporting drug/accountability courts.

Courts continue to struggle when it comes to public perceptions of justice, political bias, and innovation. Respondents were evenly split on whether they believe state courts provide “equal justice to all” well (47 percent) or not well (47 percent). Fifty-nine percent of respondents said the word “political” describes courts well, and 53 percent said the word “innovative” does not describe courts well.

Looking beyond civics education

Some of these challenges are consistent with findings revealed in earlier NCSC focus groups that found many participants believe there are “two systems of justice.” Those focus groups, conducted in 2023, formed the basis for the publication of Beyond Civics Education, a report released by the CCJ/COSCA Public Engagement, Trust, and Confidence committee in September. That report suggests that courts should change outreach strategies to include greater engagement rather than just one-way education.

The report also encourages courts to make the public more aware of courts with specialized dockets, sometimes known as problem-solving courts, to help demonstrate the courts’ efforts to better serve the public.

As one focus group participant observed: “What’s needed in New York City is going to be very different from what’s needed in rural Utah. I think the fact that state courts and local courts can create programs that are what’s needed in those communities gives me a lot of hope.”

The NCSC State of the State Courts survey and the Beyond Civics Education report can be found on the NCSC website at ncsc.org/survey and ncsc.org/beyondcivicsed.

Jesse Rutledge is vice president of public affairs for the National Center for State Courts.