For Immediate Release
May 22, 2002
Contact: Chris Heagarty, (919) 839-1200
Statewide Poll Shows Racial Divide in Opinion on N.C. Judicial System
RALEIGH – An analysis of a statewide public opinion survey conducted for the NC Center for Voter Education shows that African American voters are more cynical about the justice system than white voters.
Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of black voters agree with the statement that “there are two systems of justice in North Carolina: one for the rich and powerful and one for everyone else”, compared to only 56 percent of white voters who feel the same way.
Perhaps as a result, black voters say they are less likely to have trust and confidence in the court system. Only 14 percent of black voters say they have “a great deal” of trust and confidence, compared to 26 percent of white voters, while 21 percent of African-Americans say they have little or no trust and confidence in the system, compared to only 17 percent of white voters who feel that way.
“These poll results show that African American voters are clearly more skeptical about the integrity of the justice system than the population as a whole,” said Chris Heagarty, Executive Director of the NC Center for Voter Education. “While that is perhaps not surprising, it only reinforces the importance of reforming how we choose our judges.”
One out of every two black voters (50 percent) believe that campaign contributions influence the courtroom decisions of judges “a great deal”, compared to only 36 percent of white voters. Cynicism about the role of money in judicial campaigns can also be seen in the response to the statement “the outcome of judicial elections in North Carolina reflect the will of the average person”: 54 percent of black respondents disagree with this statement, compared to only 46 percent of white voters who disagree.
There were some areas in which black and white opinion was virtually the same: 81 percent of black voters favor continuing to elect judges rather than appoint them, and 82 percent of white voters feel the same way. Likewise, 71 percent of black voters support a proposal to reform statewide appellate-level elections (Court of Appeals and Supreme Court), with 72 percent of white voters also supporting the proposal.
The Center points out that there is a proposal before the state legislature would provide public financing for statewide judicial campaigns, as well as make those elections non-partisan. It would also mandate the creation of an objective voters guide to help better inform voters about judicial candidates. Many African-American judges elected statewide are supportive of reform efforts, such as Justice G.K. Butterfield of the NC Supreme Court and NC Court of Appeals Judges Wanda Bryant and James Wynn, Jr.
The North Carolina Center for Voter Education commissioned American Viewpoint to conduct a survey of 600 likely North Carolina voters to measure public attitudes towards courts and judges and to gauge support for judicial campaign reform. Interviews were conducted via telephone April 29 through May 2, 2002. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 4.0 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The margin of error for demographic subgroups is higher.
The NC Center for Voter Education is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization based in Raleigh dedicated to improving the quality and responsiveness of North Carolina’s election system. American Viewpoint, based in Alexandria, VA, has conducted statewide research in 48 states.
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