Survey of Beliefs About the Criminal Justice System
Data collected online 2006 from national sample
1. COMMITTED THE CRIMEcommit1 / What percent of people brought to trial did in fact commit the crime?
[____% did commit the crime]
commit2 / Assume that you are a juror in a trial of a person charged with committing a crime. Before hearing any evidence, what in your opinion is the probability that the person did in fact commit the crime?
[____% probability that defendant committed the crime]
commit3 / What percent of people convicted by juries in criminal trials did in fact commit the crime?
[____ % committed the crime]
commit4 / What percent of people convicted by juries in criminal trials did not in fact commit the crime?
[____% did not in fact commit the crime]
commit5 / It is fair to assume that some people charged with a crime have committed other crimes for which they were never caught. On average, people charged with a crime have committed ______(please state a number) other crimes without getting caught.
2. DEATH QUALIFICATION
death1 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: jurors who support the death penalty are more likely to find a defendant guilty of crime of murder than jurors who oppose the death penalty.
[1-11 point scale: “definitely untrue” – “definitely true”]
death2a / In trials that carry a potential death sentence, before the jury begins to address the sentence, it must first determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty of committing the crime. Assume that, in a state that has the death penalty, each of the following types of jurors sat on 10 trials that involved a potential death sentence (for example, trials that entail murdering more than one person). Please estimate how many times out of the 10 trials each type of jurors would find the defendant guilty of committing the crime (please respond to all questions):
* The average juror would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
death2b / * Jurors who strongly support the death penalty would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
death2c / * Jurors who moderately support the death penalty would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
death2d / * Jurors who moderately oppose the death penalty would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
death2e / * Jurors who strongly oppose the death penalty would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
death2f / * Jurors who strongly object to the death penalty and state that they would never vote to impose a death sentence, would find the defendant guilty of the crime in __ cases out of ten.
3. DEFENDANT
defendant1 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: most defendants spend more money on their legal defense than the prosecution can spend.
[1-11 point scale: “strong disagreement” – “strong agreement”]
defendant2 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: most defendants can afford better investigators and experts than the prosecution has at its disposal.
[1-11 point scale: “strong disagreement” – “strong agreement”]
defendant3 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: most defendants have very good legal representation.
[1-11 point scale: “strong disagreement” – “strong agreement”]
defendant4 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: defendants who decide not to testify at trial do so because they are in fact guilty.
[1-11 point scale: “strong disagreement” – “strong agreement”]
defendant5 / To what extent do you agree with the following statement: in a democratic society, it is important that criminal defendants are not forced to testify.
[1-11 point scale: “strong disagreement” – “strong agreement”]
4. TWO ERRORS
errors1a / Every legal system is bound to have the following two types of error: first, a certain amount of truly guilty people do not get convicted. Second, a certain amount of truly innocent people get convicted for crimes they did not commit. The two types of error are related to each other: in harsh legal systems, fewer truly guilty people escape punishment but more truly innocent people get convicted, whereas in lenient systems, more truly guilty people escape punishment but fewer innocent people get convicted.
a. What, in your opinion, is the most appropriate ratio of the two types of error?
1 Better to acquit 30 or more guilty people than to convict one innocent person
2 Better to acquit 20 people than to convict one innocent person
3 Better to acquit 10 guilty people than to convict one innocent person
4 Better to acquit 5 guilty people than to convict one innocent person
5 Better to acquit 3 guilty people than to convict one innocent person
6 Better to acquit 1 guilty person than to convict one innocent person
7 The errors are equivalent
8 Better to convict 1 innocent person than to acquit one guilty person
9 Better to convict 3 innocent people than to acquit one guilty person
10 Better to convict 5 innocent people than to acquit one guilty person
11 Better to convict 10 innocent people than to acquit one guilty person
12 Better to convict 20 innocent people than to acquit one guilty person
13 Better to convict 30 or more innocent people than to acquit one guilty person
errors1b / b. How, if at all, would you change the system to alter the ratio of wrongful convictions to
wrongful acquittals: please mark your response on the following scale.
[1-11 point scale: “Change the system to reduce the acquittals of guilty people”, -
“Change the system to decrease the convictions of innocent people”
errors2 / In formulating some policies in the field of criminal justice, one must choose between punishing all the people who committed crimes on the one hand, and ensuring that no innocent people get punished on the other hand. In your opinion, which objective is more important?
[1-11point scale: “acquitting all innocent people” – “convicting all guilty people”]
errors3 / Given that the criminal justice system will never be perfect, some innocent people are likely to be wrongly convicted for crimes they did not commit. What, in your opinion, is an acceptable rate of mistaken convictions? In your opinion, out of every thousand people convicted, it is acceptable to convict ___ people who did not in fact commit the crime.
5. FORENSICS
forensics1 / Assume that a forensic expert from a state crime laboratory testifies for the prosecution. The expert testifies that a strong match was found between the lead content of bullet fired in the commission of the crime and the lead content of the bullets found in the defendant’s gun. How many times out of a hundred is that kind of match correct: The match is correct in __ out of a hundred cases.
forensics2 / Assume that a forensic expert from a state crime laboratory testifies for the prosecution. The expert testifies that a strong match was found between a bite mark left on the victim and the defendant’s teeth. How many times out of a hundred is that kind of match correct?: The match is correct in __ out of a hundred cases.
forensics3 / Assume that a forensic expert from a state crime laboratory testifies for the prosecution. The expert testifies that a strong match was found between the DNA found in the crime scene and the defendant’s DNA. How many times out of a hundred is that kind of match correct?: The match is correct in __ out of a hundred cases.
forensics4 / Assume that a forensic expert from a state crime laboratory testifies for the prosecution. The expert testifies that a strong match was found between the defendant’s fingerprint and a fingerprint picked up from the crime scene. How many times out of a hundred is that kind of match correct: The match is correct in __ out of a hundred cases.
forensics5 / In some crime investigations, after police detectives believe that they have identified a suspect, they send biological evidence to external laboratories (in many cases, to FBI laboratories) for DNA analysis. In what percent of these cases does the DNA analysis confirm the police’s beliefs?
6. INNOCENCE
innocence1 / What percent of convicted felons claim that they are innocent?
[____% claim innocence]
innocence2 / Of convicted felons who claim that they are innocent, what percent are in fact innocent? [____% of these people are innocent]
7. PROSECUTOR VERSUS DEFENSE
prosecutor1 / Generally speaking, whom do you trust more, prosecutors or defense attorneys?
[1-11 point scale: Defense Attorney - Prosecutors]
prosecutor2 / Generally speaking, whom do you like more, prosecutors or defense attorneys?
[1-11 point scale: Defense Attorney - Prosecutors]
prosecutor3 / Generally speaking, whom do you trust more, police detectives or private investigators?
[1-11 point scale: Police Detectives – Private Investigators]
8. BELIEF IN THE SYSTEM
system1 / How much trust do you have in the accuracy of convictions decided by juries in criminal trials?
[1-11 point scale: “very little” - “complete trust”]
system2 / How much trust do you have in the accuracy of convictions decided by judges in criminal trials?
[1-11 point scale: “very little” - “complete trust”]
system3 / Assume a criminal trial where the prosecution’s evidence is not very strong. Assume also that the jurors happen to know that the defendant has committed a handful of crimes for which he was never caught. To what degree are the jurors likely to presume this defendant’s innocence and give him the benefit of the doubt?
[1-11 point scale: “very unlikely” - “very likely”]
system4 / Assume that you are a juror in a criminal trial, and that the prosecution’s evidence is not very strong. Assume also that you happen to know that the defendant had committed a handful of other crimes for which he was never caught. To what degree would you feel compelled to presume this defendant’s innocence and give him the benefit of the doubt?
[1-11 scale: “definitely presume innocence” - “definitely not presume innocence”]
9. THRESHOLD
threshold1 / In order to convict a person for a crime, jurors should feel that it is at least _____% likely that the defendant is guilty of the crime.
threshold2 / In criminal trials, jurors are instructed to vote for conviction only if they find the defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” As you understand this instruction, to convict the defendant of a crime, jurors should feel that it is at least _____% likely that the defendant is guilty of the crime.
threshold3a / Assume that you are a juror in a criminal trial, and as such you are responsible for determining the truth of a certain proposition presented by one of the parties. The judge instructs you that in order for you to conclude that a proposition is true, the evidence must “leave you with an abiding conviction that the proposition is true.”
Which of the following statements best captures the meaning of this instruction? Mark all answers that apply:
* You can conclude that the proposition is true if you
felt that it was true throughout the trial.
threshold3b / * You can conclude that the proposition is true if you
have a stable belief that the proposition is true.
threshold3c / * You can conclude that the proposition is true if you
feel that the truth of the proposition is binding upon you.
threshold3d / * You can conclude that the proposition is true if you
believe that the arguments supporting the proposition are more convincing than the
opposing arguments.
age / Age: ____ years
edu / How many years of post high school education do you have: ____ years.
liborcon / When it comes to issues of criminal justice, do you describe yourself as more liberal or more conservative?
1-11 point scale: Strongly Liberal – Strongly Conservative
sex / Gender:
1=male
2=female
children18 / Do you have children under age of 18?
1=no
2=yes
victimcrime / Have you ever been a victim of a crime?
1=no
2=yes
victimviolent / Have you ever been a victim of a violent crime?
1=no
2=yes
arrested / Have you ever been arrested for a crime?
1=no
2=yes
voter / Are you a registered voter? If so, which party?
1=Republican
2=Democrat
3=None
4=Other
deathstate / Is the death penalty available in your state?
1=no
2=yes
3=don’t know
deathopinion / What is your opinion of using the death penalty to punish convicted murderers:
1=I strongly support the death penalty
2=I moderately support death penalty
3=I am neutral about the death penalty
4=I moderately oppose death penalty
5=I strongly oppose the death penalty
6=I have no opinion a death penalty
rel_affiliation / Do you have any religious affiliation?
1=no
2=yes
rel_category / If yes, please mark one:
1=Catholic
2=Baptist
3=Christian, other
4=Muslim
5=Jewish
6=Hindu
7=other
rel_services / Do you attend religious services?
1=no
2=yes
rel_frequency / If yes, how frequently?
1=3 or more times a week
2=1-2 times a week
3=About once a month
4=A few times a year
5=Rarely
6=Never
rel_person / Would you describe yourself as a religious person?
1-11 point scale: “not at all” – “very religious”