For the 12th consecutive year, NCSC has teamed up with leading national pollster GBAO Strategies to conduct our State of the State Courts public opinion survey. The survey provides real-time insights into public sentiment about the courts and data for understanding the types of administrative reforms and improvements that might enhance public support.
Survey development is supported by guidance from a subcommittee of the CCJ and COSCA Public Engagement, Trust and Confidence committee. The 2025 subcommittee includes Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby (DC), Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh (MI), Nancy Cozine (OR), Julie Hamil (RI), Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald (NH) and Marcia Meis (IL). The survey could not be completed without the professional expertise and support of Karl Agne and Nisha Jain at GBAO Strategies.
The big takeaway
Public trust is stable, and state courts lead in confidence. But rising concerns about a two-tiered justice system, distrust of AI, and barriers from complex, costly processes are driving calls for greater community engagement as well as legal education reform. Read on to dive into the details.
Public trust holds steady
Many key public trust measures are virtually unchanged from one year ago. State courts continue to outperform the other branches of government as well as the federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Courts — especially state courts — remain the most trusted of the three branches of government. This year’s survey finds that 62% of respondents express a great deal or some trust in our state court system. Last year’s survey placed that number at 63%, and the 2023 figure was 61%, suggesting that public trust in state courts is stable.
