NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE COURT SURVEY
conducted for:
New Hampshire Citizens Commission for the State Courts
Prepared by:
Andrew E. Smith, Ph.D.
The Survey Center
University of New Hampshire
November, 2005
The University of New Hampshire
Survey Center
The UNH Survey Center is an independent, non-partisan
academic survey research organization and a division of the UNH
Carsey Institute.
The Survey Center conducts telephone, mail, e-mail, Internet, and
self-administered surveys, as well as focus groups and other
qualitative research for university researchers, government
agencies, public non-profit organizations, private businesses, and
media clients.
Our senior staff have more than 40 years experience in designing
and conducting custom research on a broad range of political,
social, health care, and other public policy issues.
Dr. Andrew E. Smith, Director
UNH Survey Center
Thompson Hall
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
603/862-2226 (voice)
603/862-1488 (FAX)
Andrew.Smith@unh.edu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
II. Knowledge of New Hampshire Courts..................................................... 2
III. Perceived Fairness of New Hampshire Courts.......................................... 8
IV. Non-Traditional Roles for the Courts ..................................................... 14
V. Personal Experience in Court................................................................. 16
VI. Deciding NOT to Go To Court............................................................... 23
VII. Recent Court Issues ............................................................................... 25
VIII. Technical Report.................................................................................... 27
Appendix A: Detailed Tabular Results
Appendix B: Questionnaire
University of New Hampshire 1 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
I. Introduction
The 2005 New Hampshire State Court Survey was conducted by the University of New Hampshire
Survey Center in Late July and August 2005. The survey was sponsored by the New Hampshire Citizens
Commission for the State Courts.
There were three main purposes for the survey:
1. to understand citizen knowledge of the New Hampshire Court system,
2. to understand general citizen attitudes about New Hampshire’s courts, and
3. to understand the views of citizens who have had recent experience with the court system.
Telephone interviews with 765 randomly selected New Hampshire adults were conducted between
July 28 and August 12, 2005 by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The margin of sampling
error for a survey of this size is +/- 3.5 percent (see Chapter VIII, Technical Report, for a more detailed
description of sampling methods used).
Most of the questions used in the survey replicated questions used by the National Center for the
State Courts (NCSC) in a national survey conducted in 2000.1 The questionnaire used in the New
Hampshire survey was kept as identical to the NCSC survey as possible to facilitate comparability.
Additional questions were designed in conjunction with the Commission Steering Committee. The Chairs
of the New Hampshire Citizens Commission for the State Courts, Will Abbot and Kathy Eneguess, and the
Commission Steering Committee guided the design of the questionnaire with the active participation of
other Commission members. Their help in this effort has been invaluable. The questionnaire used in the
survey can be found in Appendix B.
The following report presents the major findings of the survey. Significant demographic
differences are noted in the text. For more detailed information about how members of specific geographic
or demographic groups responded, please refer to Appendix A.
1 Special thanks go to Kathy Mays, Peggy Rogers, David Rottman, and David Steelman of the National Center for the
State Courts for their permission to use this survey and their assistance in this project.
University of New Hampshire 2 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
II. KNOWLEDGE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE COURTS
Overall, New Hampshire citizens have little knowledge of the way courts in their community
handle various legal cases. Respondents were asked to rate how well their local courts handle several types
of cases on a five-point scale where “1” was the lowest point and “5” was the highest point.
??When asked about how well courts in their community handle criminal cases, civil cases, and
family relations matters, at least one-third said they did not know (Chart 2.1).
o Citizens are least aware of how well civil cases are handled (49% don’t know), child
support cases (47% don’t know), juvenile delinquency cases (44% don’t know) but are also
are quite unaware of how well family relations cases are handles (42% don’t know),
violent criminal cases (38% don’t know), and non-violent criminal cases (33% don’t
know).
??New Hampshire citizens are significantly more likely than residents of the U.S. overall to say they
don’t know how these cases are handled.
??For most specific measures, younger adults, women, people who have moved to New Hampshire in
the past five years, residents of Hillsborough County and the Seacoast and those who have never
been to court are least knowledgeable about how the community courts handle cases.
??People with lower levels of education are MORE knowledgeable about how local courts handle
non-violent crimes (such as drunk driving and drug cases) and civil cases.
??Minorities are more likely to know about how courts handle juvenile delinquency cases and to rate
them lower than are whites.
Chart 2.1
How Well do Community Courts Handle Cases – NH vs. US
(Percent responding “Don’t Know” or “Not Familiar”)
47%
44%
42%
49%
33%
38%
16%
16%
19%
10%
13%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Child Support Cases
Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Family relations cases
Civil cases
Non-violent criminal cases
Violent criminal cases
NH US
University of New Hampshire 3 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Ratings for how well the courts handle cases are relatively high when compared to national figures
after those with a lack of knowledge are factored in (Chart 2.2). Chart 2.3 shows full responses for NH
residents.
Chart 2.3
How Well do Community Courts Handle Cases
(NH Only)
6%
5%
6%
3%
6%
4%
12%
9%
9%
7%
11%
5%
18%
21%
20%
21%
19%
18%
13%
15%
19%
14%
20%
23%
5%
6%
6%
7%
12%
12%
47%
44%
42%
48%
33%
38%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100
%
Child Support Cases
Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Family relations cases
Civil cases
Non-violent criminal cases
Violent criminal cases
1 - Lowest 2 3 4 5 - Highest Not Familiar / Don't Know
Chart 2.2
How Well do Community Courts Handle Cases – NH vs. US
(Percent responding 4 or 5 on 5 point scale)
18%
22%
24%
21%
31%
35%
26%
32%
34%
36%
40%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Child Support Cases
Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Family relations cases
Civil cases
Non-violent criminal cases
Violent criminal cases
NH US
University of New Hampshire 4 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Personal Familiarity with State Courts
A major reason New Hampshire residents are unable to rate the performance of their local courts,
compared to national figures, is that few New Hampshire residents have any direct experience with the
courts. Only 13 percent of NH residents said they had personal experience in a court in the past year,
either as a defendant, a plaintiff, witness, or as a juror. By comparison, 38 percent of US residents had
been in court in the prior year of the NCSC survey (Chart 2.4).
??Fully 61 percent of New Hampshire residents indicated that they had never had any personal
involvement with the courts compared to only 37 percent of the national sample.
??As mentioned above, New Hampshire residents who had been to court in the prior year are
significantly more likely to be aware of their community courts than those who have not (Chart
2.5). However, there are no significant differences between those who have been to court in the
past year and those who have not in how they rate the performance of their community courts.
Chart 2.4
Anyone in HH had personal involvement in courts in last 12 months?
NH vs. US
13%
8%
18%
61%
38%
6%
19%
37%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Yes, Respondent has Yes, Family Member No, had at some time No personal involvement
NH US
University of New Hampshire 5 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Chart 2.5
How Well do Community Courts Handle Cases by Recent Court Experience
(Percent responding 4 or 5 on 5 point scale)
20%
29%
35%
29%
35%
45%
17%
19%
21%
19%
30%
33%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Child Support Cases
Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Family relations cases
Civil cases
Non-violent criminal cases
Violent criminal cases
Been To Court in Past Year Have Not Been to Court in Past Year
University of New Hampshire 6 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Comparison of Courts and Other Local Government Organizations
In order to better understand how citizens view their state courts, respondents were asked to rate
their overall level of favorability toward their local courts, their local schools and their local police. Not
surprisingly, courts received the highest percentage of “3” responses as people are more likely to give
moderate ratings when they are not familiar with an institution (Chart 2.6).
??There are no significant differences in how different demographic groups rate their community
courts
Chart 2.6
Ratings of Community Institutions
(NH Only)
7%
4%
5%
11%
8%
6%
21%
21%
58%
34%
33%
19%
21%
31%
6%
8%
3%
6%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Schools
Police
Courts
1 - Lowest 2 3 4 5 - Highest Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 7 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
When compared with the United States, all three of the institutions rated received a higher
percentage of favorable scores from New Hampshire residents than they did nationwide (Chart 2.7).
Chart 2.7
Ratings of Community Institutions – NH vs. US
(Percent responding 4 or 5 on 5 point scale)
56%
66%
27%
48%
47%
25%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Schools
Police
Courts
NH US
University of New Hampshire 8 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
III. PERCEIVED FAIRNESS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE COURTS
It is of the highest importance that courts are, and are perceived to be, places where all receive fair
treatment and fair outcomes. New Hampshire residents were asked their perceptions of these factors
directly and give positive ratings to state courts compared to national ratings.
Respondents were first asked how often they thought people received fair outcomes when they deal
with the courts. Almost half (48%) of New Hampshire residents said that people always or usually receive
fair outcomes when they deal with the courts, one quarter (28%) said they sometimes receive fair
outcomes, 6 percent said they seldom or never receive fair outcomes and 19 percent don’t know (Chart
3.1).
??New Hampshire residents assess the likelihood of receiving fair outcomes significantly higher than
do respondents to the national NCSC survey.
??There are no significant differences in how various demographic groups rate their perceptions of
fair outcomes.
Chart 3.1
How often do people receive fair outcomes when they deal with the courts?
3%
4%
35%
44%
41%
28%
12%
5%
3%
1%
6%
19%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
US
NH
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 9 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
When asked about the fairness of procedures used, 58 percent of New Hampshire residents think
local courts always or usually use fair procedures, 21 percent think they sometimes do, 5 percent think they
seldom or never do, and 15 percent said they don’t know (Chart 3.2).
??New Hampshire residents rate the fairness of procedures used significantly higher than did
respondents to the national NCSC survey.
??Again, there are no significant differences in how different people assessed the fairness of
procedures used in courts.
Chart 3.2
How often do you think the courts use fair procedures in handling cases?
NH vs. US
7%
9%
39%
49%
36%
21%
10%
4%
3%
1%
5%
15%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
US
NH
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 10 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Perceived Treatment in Court
Respondents were next asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements about
New Hampshire courts. On issues of treatment of people in courts, New Hampshire residents rate the
performance of their state courts the same as, or better than, people on the national NCSC survey (Charts
3.3 & 3.4).
??The one significant exception is that New Hampshire residents were less likely to agree that it is
affordable to bring a case to court. More than half of all New Hampshire respondents (53%)
disagreed with this statement.
??New Hampshire residents also rate the timeliness of courts poorly with only 39 percent agreeing
that cases are resolved in a timely manner – 43 percent disagreed with this statement.
??It is important to note that fairly large percentages were unable to rate these items – a low of 10
percent said they did not know if courts were concerned with people’s rights and a high of 27
percent said they did not know if mediation of disputes were decided fairly.
Chart 3.3
Percent Agreeing with Statements About Courts
(NH Only)
7%
10%
13%
13%
18%
21%
21%
28%
34%
35%
20%
30%
45%
46%
45%
43%
43%
45%
39%
42%
23%
23%
11%
17%
15%
14%
11%
10%
8%
8%
30%
20%
4%
8%
9%
7%
7%
6%
5%
5%
21%
18%
27%
16%
13%
16%
18%
12%
14%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Affordable to bring case to court
Cases resolved in timely manner
Mediation decided fairly
Decisions fair & consistent
Sensitive to needs of avg. citizen
Courts listen to what people say
Rights of victims represented
Courts make decisions based on fact
Courts treat people with dignity
Courts concerned with people's rights
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 11 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Chart 3.4
Percent Agreeing with Statements About Courts – NH vs. US
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
27%
39%
57%
59%
63%
63%
64%
73%
73%
76%
33%
35%
60%
63%
71%
66%
70%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Affordable to bring case to court
Cases resolved in timely manner
Mediation decided fairly
Decisions fair & consistent
Sensitive to needs of avg. citizen
Courts listen to what people say
Rights of victims represented
Courts make decisions based on fact
Courts treat people with dignity
Courts concerned with people's rights
NH US
University of New Hampshire 12 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Treatment of Minorities and Other Individuals
It is also crucial to courts that people believe that all types of people are treated equally when they
deal with courts. In order to examine this issue, respondents were asked a series of questions about how
often certain types of people were treated worse than others.
??Overall, there is a lack of knowledge of how people are treated with between 20 percent and 33
percent of respondents indicating they did not know if certain people were treated worse than
others (Chart 3.5).
??Among those who were able to make a judgment, the plurality said that these people were
sometimes treated worse than others. Only between 19 percent (father in custody cases) and 26
percent (African-Americans) said that these groups were seldom or never treated worse than others.
??Almost one-quarter of state resident said that fathers in custody cases, pro-se litigants, and low
income people were always or usually treated worse than other.
Chart 3.5
Are people treated worse than others?
(NH only)
3%
3%
4%
5%
7%
7%
11%
13%
13%
17%
16%
19%
29%
29%
28%
33%
29%
30%
14%
11%
12%
14%
12%
12%
12%
11%
10%
11%
9%
7%
31%
33%
33%
20%
27%
26%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
African-Americans
Hispanics
Non-English Speakers
Low Income People
Pro-se
Fathers in custody cases
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 13 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Compared to national results from the NCSC survey, New Hampshire residents are less likely to
think that members of these groups are treated worse than others (Chart 3.6).
Chart 3.6
Are people treated worse than others? – NH vs. US
(Percent “Always” or “Usually”)
14%
16%
17%
22%
23%
26%
27%
22%
23%
33%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
African-Americans
Hispanics
Non-English Speakers
Low Income People
Pro-se
Fathers in custody cases
NH US
University of New Hampshire 14 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
IV. NON-TRADITIONAL ROLES FOR THE COURTS
Courts across the United States have taken on additional roles in dealing with societal problems,
particularly in dealing with family issues and substance abuse issues. Respondents were asked if they
agreed or disagreed that New Hampshire courts should take on several functions that some courts across
the country have assumed. New Hampshire residents are generally supportive of these additional
responsibilities, but not to the level of respondents from the nation at large (Charts 4.1& 4.2).
??A large majority of New Hampshire adults (78%) agree that courts should consider what
psychologists and medical doctors know about the causes of emotional problems when making
decisions about people in court cases. Only 17 percent disagree that courts should do this.
??Almost three-quarters (73%) agree that courts should order a person to go back to court and talk to
the judge about their progress in a treatment program.
??Two-thirds agree that courts should take responsibility for making sure local agencies provide help
to people with drug abuse and/or alcohol problems.
??However, only 54 percent agree that courts should hire drug treatment counselors and social
workers as court staff members.
Chart 4.1
Non-traditional role of Courts - NH Only
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
30%
49%
43%
42%
24%
24%
24%
37%
15%
10%
12%
9%
23%
12%
18%
8%
5%
5%
4%
5%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Hire drug treatement counselors & social
workers
Order a person to go back to court and talk to
judge re treatment progress
Be responsible for local agencies helping
drug/acohol problems
Consider causes of emotional problems in
decisions
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 15 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Chart 4.2
Non-traditional Role of Courts – NH vs. US
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
54%
73%
67%
78%
69%
85%
82%
84%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Hire drug treatement
counselors & social
workers
Order a person to go back
to court and talk to judge
re treatment progress
Be responsible for local
agencies helping
drug/acohol problems
Consider causes of
emotional problems in
decisions
NH US
University of New Hampshire 16 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
V. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN COURT
As described above, few New Hampshire residents have been to court, especially when compared
to respondents to the NCSC study (Chart 2.3). Only 12 percent of New Hampshire adults said they have
been in court in the past year as a plaintiff, a defendant, a juror, a witness or for any other reason, another 8
percent said that a family member had been in court for some reason in the past year, 18 percent had been
in court at some time in their lives, but not in the past year, and 61 percent said they had never been to
court.
??Minorities, people aged 50 to 59 years old, and people with only a high school education or less are
most likely to have had experience with the courts.
??One quarter of those who had been to court in the past year said they had been a defendant in a
criminal case, 18 percent were plaintiffs in a lawsuit, 15 percent said they had been a witness, 13
percent had been a juror, 10 percent were involved in a child custody case, 8 percent were
defendants in a civil case, 3 percent had been involved in a traffic case, 3% were court employees
or attorneys, and 5 percent had some other experience in court.
??The most common types of cases people were involved in were criminal matters (35%), family
matters (28%), lawsuits seeking money (21%), traffic court (8%), some other matter (3%), and 5
percent were not sure.
??Most of those respondents who had been to court in the past year (76%) said that the case they
were involved in had reached a conclusion.
o Respondents involved in criminal cases were more likely to say that their case had reached
a conclusion than were those involved in civil cases.
Representation
??Slightly more than half (54%) of those who had been either a plaintiff or defendant in a court case
in the past year said they had a lawyer in their case.
??The major reasons for why they did not have a lawyer were that did not want to spend the money
and could handle the issue on their own, that they could not afford a lawyer, and that they wanted
to be there own advocate. (Care should be taken with these results as only a small number of
respondents, 32, were asked this question.)
University of New Hampshire 17 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Observing What Happened in Court
Those respondents who had been in court in the past year were asked whether they agreed or
disagreed with a series of statements about what they saw happen during their time in court. Overall, New
Hampshire respondents who had been to court responded more positively about their experience than did
respondents to the nationwide NCSC survey (Charts 5.1 & 5.2).
??More than three-quarters of New Hampshire respondents who had been to court in the past year
agreed that people were treated with dignity and respect, and that the court staff showed concern
for people’s rights.
??More than two-thirds agreed that a person’s race or ethnicity made no difference in how the court
treated them and that judges were neutral in the way people were treated, that court staff were
neutral.
??More than three in five agreed that differing views of people were taken into consideration, and
that fair procedures were used to make decisions, and that decisions were based on fact.
??Similarly, only 19 percent agreed that judges did NOT show concern for peoples rights, 31% said
that judges did NOT give people an opportunity to tell their side of the story, and 33 percent said
that the needs of people were NOT taken into account.
??On a less positive note, only 54 percent said that the outcome of the procedures used was fair.
??While New Hampshire rated better than the US on most of these indicators, it did score lower on
perceptions of the fairness of procedures used, on perceptions that decisions were based on fact,
and perceptions that the outcomes of procedures were fair.
Chart 5.1
Perceptions of NH Courts – Respondent’s who had been to Court in past year
NH Only
12%
20%
18%
37%
46%
47%
45%
60%
50%
61%
57%
66%
8%
11%
15%
17%
15%
16%
19%
9%
19%
11%
21%
17%
13%
11%
13%
11%
8%
8%
9%
11%
8%
3%
5%
3%
60%
52%
46%
22%
21%
21%
19%
15%
15%
7%
12%
11%
8%
6%
9%
14%
9%
8%
8%
5%
8%
18%
5%
3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Judges did NOT show concern for rights
Did NOT give people opportunity to tell story
Needs of people NOT considered
Outcome of procedures was fair
Decisions were based on fact
Fair procedures used
Differing views taken into consideration
Court staff were neutral
Judges were neutral
Race/ethnicity made NO difference
Staff showed concern for rights
People treated with dignity & respect
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 18 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
19%
31%
33%
54%
61%
63%
64%
69%
69%
72%
78%
83%
27%
31%
37%
60%
65%
67%
63%
69%
69%
69%
68%
72%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Judges did NOT show concern for rights
Did NOT give people opportunity to tell story
Needs of people NOT considered
Outcome of procedures was fair
Decisions were based on fact
Fair procedures used
Differing views taken into consideration
Court staff were neutral
Judges were neutral
Race/ethnicity made NO difference
Staff showed concern for rights
People treated with dignity & respect
NH US
Chart 5.2
Perceptions of NH Courts – Respondent’s who had been to Court in past year
NH vs. US
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
University of New Hampshire 19 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Personal Experience in Court
Respondents who had been to court in the past year were also asked whether they agreed or
disagreed with a series of statements about how they were personally treated in court (Charts 5.3 & 5.4).
??More than three-quarters of New Hampshire residents who had been to court in the past year
agreed they were personally treated with dignity and respect, that their rights were taken into
account, and that their views were considered.
??More than two-thirds agreed that they were treated the same as everyone else and that they were
able to make their views known.
??Only one-quarter or less agreed that they were NOT treated the way they deserved, that judges did
NOT care about their concerns, or that their race or ethnic group made a difference in how they
were treated.
Chart 5.3
Respondent’s Personal Treatment in Court
NH Only
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
5%
13%
17%
53%
66%
49%
61%
68%
7%
11%
8%
16%
5%
26%
15%
11%
9%
12%
6%
11%
10%
5%
6%
10%
73%
59%
64%
12%
10%
13%
11%
8%
6%
5%
4%
3%
9%
7%
6%
3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Race/ethnic group made difference in treatment
Judge/staff did NOT care about my concerns
NOT treated the way I deserved
Able to make my views known
Treated same as anyone else
My views were considered
My rights taken into account
Treated with diginity & respect
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 20 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Chart 5.4
Respondent’s Personal Treatment in Court – NH vs. US
(Percent “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree”)
12%
24%
25%
69%
71%
75%
77%
79%
25%
32%
34%
67%
70%
66%
71%
76%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Race/ethnic group made difference in treatment
Judge/staff did NOT care about my concerns
NOT treated the way I deserved
Able to make my views known
Treated same as anyone else
My views were considered
My rights taken into account
Treated with diginity & respect
NH US
University of New Hampshire 21 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Expectations of Future Court Appearance
Those respondents who had been to court in the past year were asked how fair the outcome they
would likely receive would be, and how fair they think the judge would be, if they were to appear in court
again in the future as a party in the same kind of case. While most think that judges and the outcome will
be fair, one-quarter think that judges and the outcome will be somewhat or very unfair (Chart 5.5).
??Two-thirds said they expected the outcome of a future case would be very fair (47%) or somewhat
fair (20%) while 13 percent think the outcome would be somewhat unfair and 10 percent think the
outcome would be very unfair.
??Similarly, almost three-quarters think the judge in a future case will be very fair (51%) or
somewhat fair (21%) while 14 percent think the judge will be somewhat unfair and 6 percent think
the judge will be very unfair.
??Both of these measures are the same as national numbers as measured in the NCSC survey.
Chart 5.5
If you had to go to court again in the future … - NH vs. US
(Percent “Very Fair” or “Somewhat Fair”)
72%
67%
72%
68%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How fair will judge be?
How fair will outcome be?
NH US
University of New Hampshire 22 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Most respondents who had been to court in the past year (61%) said they likely would go to the
courts if they became involved in a similar dispute at some time in the future. However, almost one-quarter
said they would be somewhat or very unlikely to return (Chart 5.6).
??People who had been to court in New Hampshire are significantly more likely to return to court to
resolve a future dispute than similar people nationwide.
Improvements to the Court
Respondents who had been to court in the past year were asked an open-end question about what
one change or improvement they would recommend to improve New Hampshire’s courts. The most
frequent responses were to improve the timeliness of cases (20%), to treat people equally (9%), to hire
more judges (6%), to have more severe sentencing (5%), to simplify court procedures (4%), to stick more
closely to the law (4%), to hire fairer, more honest judges (4%), to improve the communication of court
schedules (4%), and to make it easier for people to speak in court (3%).
Chart 5.6
How likely would you be to go to the courts to resolve a similar dispute? – NH vs. US
43%
18%
13%
20%
7%
33%
21%
16%
27%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Very Likley Somewhat Likely Somewhat Unlikely Very Unlikely Don't Know
NH US
University of New Hampshire 23 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
VI. DECIDING NOT TO GO TO COURT
All respondents were asked if there had ever been an instance when they were discouraged from
going to court in New Hampshire. Most respondents (86%) said they had never been discouraged from
going to court, 5 percent said they had been discouraged from going to court in the past year, and 9 percent
said they had been discouraged from going to court at some time before the past year.
Chart 6.1
Ever been discouraged from going to Court?
(All respondents, NH Only)
Yes, in Past Year, 5%
Yes, More than year
ago, 9%
No, 86%
University of New Hampshire 24 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Why Not Go To Court
Those who said they had been discouraged were asked how important several factors were
to their decision not to go to court.
??Nearly three-quarters of those who were discouraged from going to court said that the cost
of hiring a lawyer was very important in their decision not to go to court (Chart 6.2).
??More than half said that court costs and court fees were very important in their decision not
to go to court.
??Almost 40 percent said that their perception of the fairness of the courts was very
important in their decision not to go to court.
??More than one-third said that the length of time it takes to reach a decision was very
important in their decision not to go to court.
Chart 6.2
Reasons for NOT Going to Court
NH Only
(Percent “Very Important” or “Somewhat Important”)
36%
39%
56%
72%
32%
31%
20%
11%
29%
29%
23%
16%
3%
1%
1%
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Length of time to reach
decision
Perception of Fairness
Costs & Fees
Cost of hiring a lawyer
Very Important Somewhat Important Not Important At All Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 25 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
VII. RECENT COURT ISSUES
Two issues involving New Hampshire received great publicity and public comment in recent years
– the Claremont decisions that said the State of New Hampshire is responsible for funding an adequate
primary and secondary education and the impeachment of former Supreme Court Chief Justice David
Brock. Respondents were asked how familiar they were with each of these issues and whether they had
increased or decreased their respect for the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Despite the publicity each of
these issues received, they are not too familiar among New Hampshire adults (Chart 7.1).
Claremont
??Only 20 percent of New Hampshire adults said they are very familiar with the Claremont decisions
that said the State of New Hampshire is responsible for funding an adequate education to New
Hampshire children, 47 percent are somewhat familiar, and 33 percent are not familiar or don’t
know.
o Younger adults (under 40), people who have never been married, and newcomers to New
Hampshire are least likely to be familiar with the Claremont Decisions
??And while the Claremont Decision has caused a serious financial problem for the state and for
many towns, this has not had a serious impact on people’s respect of the Supreme Court. Among
those who said they were familiar with the Claremont decisions, the majority (53%) said these
decisions have had no impact on their respect for the New Hampshire Supreme Court, 26 percent
said it has decreased their respect for the Supreme Court, 19 percent said it has increased their
respect for the court and 2 percent are not sure (Chart 7.2).
o Adults 50 or older are most likely to say that the Claremont Decisions have decreased their
respect for the Supreme Court.
Chart 7.1
Familiarity with Recent Court Issues
(NH Only)
7%
20%
38%
47%
54%
33%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Familiarity with Brock
Impeachment
Familiarity with
Claremont Decision
Very Familiar Somewhat Familiar Not Familiar / Don't Know
University of New Hampshire 26 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
Brock Impeachment
??New Hampshire residents are even less familiar with the impeachment and acquittal of former
Chief Justice David Brock in 2000. Only 7 percent said they were very familiar with the Brock
impeachment, 38 percent said they were somewhat familiar, 53 percent said they were not familiar
and 1 percent said they were not sure (Chart 7.1).
o People with higher levels of income and education are most familiar with the Brock
impeachment.
o Young adults (under 40), people with lower levels of income, and recent arrivals to New
Hampshire are least familiar with the Brock impeachment.
??Among those familiar with the Brock impeachment, most (54%) said it had no impact on their
respect for the New Hampshire Supreme Court, 29 percent said it had decreased their respect for
the Court, 14 percent said it had increased their respect for the Court and 2 percent were not sure.
o People aged 50 to 59 were most likely to say that the Brock impeachment had decreased
their respect for the Court.
14%
19%
54%
53%
29%
26%
2%
2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Impact of Brock
Impeachment
Impact of Claremont
Decision
Increased respect for Court No impact on respect Decreased respect for Court Don't Know
Chart 7.2
Impact of Recent Court Issues
(People familiar with issues, NH Only)
University of New Hampshire 27 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
VIII. TECHNICAL REPORT
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center conducted a survey of New Hampshire adults for
the New Hampshire Citizens Commission for the State Courts in August, 2005.
How the Sample Was Selected
A sample of households in New Hampshire was selected by a procedure known as random digit
dialing. The way this works is as follows. First, with the aid of the computer, one of the three-digit
telephone exchanges that are currently used in the state (e.g., 868) is randomly selected. The computer then
randomly selects one of the "working blocks"--the first two of the last four numbers in a telephone number
(e.g., 64)--and attaches it to the randomly selected exchange. Finally, the computer program then generates
a two-digit random number between 00 and 99 (e.g., 12) which is attached to the previously selected prefix
(868), and the previously selected working block (34) resulting in a complete telephone number -- i.e.,
868-1234. This procedure is then repeated numerous times by the computer to generate more random
numbers, so that we have a sufficient quantity to conduct the survey. The end result is that each household
in New Hampshire in which there is a telephone has an equally likely chance of being selected into the
sample.
The random sample used in the 2005 New Hampshire State Court Survey was purchased from
Marketing Systems Group, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. MSG screens each selected telephone number
to eliminate non-working numbers, disconnected numbers, and business numbers to improve the efficiency
of the sample, reducing the amount of time interviewers spend calling non-usable numbers.
Each of these randomly generated telephone numbers is called by one of our interviewers from a
centrally supervised facility at the UNH Survey Center. If the number called is found not to be a residential
one, it is discarded and another random number is called. (Approximately fifty percent of the numbers are
discarded because they are found to be businesses, institutions, or not assigned.) If it is a residential
number, the interviewer then randomly selects a member of the household by asking to speak with the adult
currently living in the household who has had the most recent birthday. This selection process ensures that
every adult (18 years of age or older) in the household has an equally likely chance of being included in the
survey. No substitutions are allowed. If, for example, the randomly selected adult is not at home when the
household is first contacted, the interviewer cannot substitute by selecting someone else who just happens
to be there at the time. Instead, he or she must make an appointment to call back when the randomly
selected adult is at home. In this way, respondent selection bias is minimized.
When the Interviewing Was Done
Respondents were interviewed between July 28 and August 12, 2005. Each selected household
was called by a professional UNH Survey Center interviewer from a centrally supervised facility at the
UNH Survey Center. Telephone calls during the field period were made between 10:00 AM and 9:00 PM.
Response Rates
Interviews were completed with 765 randomly selected adults in New Hampshire from a sample of
9,120 randomly selected telephone numbers. Using American Association for Public Opinion (AAPOR)
Response Rate 3, the response rate for the 2005 New Hampshire State Court Survey was 23.7%. The
refusal rate for the survey was quite low, 8.3%
The formula to calculate standard AAPOR response rate is:
_____________I______________
((I+P) + (R+NC+O) + e(UH+UO))
I=Complete Interviews, P=Partial Interviews, R=Refusal and break off, NC=Non Contact, O=Other, e=estimated
portion of cases of unknown eligibility that are eligible, UH=Unknown household, UO=Unknown other.
University of New Hampshire 28 New Hampshire State Court Survey
Survey Center November, 2005
After the interviews were completed, the open-ended questions were coded. Following this coding,
the data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Sampling Error
The 2005 New Hampshire State Court Survey, like all surveys, is subject to sampling error due to
the fact that all residents in the area were not interviewed. For those questions asked of seven hundred fifty
(750) or so respondents, the error is +/-3.6%. For those questions where fewer than 750 persons responded,
the sampling error can be calculated as follows:
______
Sampling error = +/- (1.96) |P(1-P)
\| N
Where P is the percentage of responses in the answer category being evaluated and N is the total
number of persons answering the particular question.
For example, suppose you had the following distribution of answers to the question, "Should the
state spend more money on road repair even if that means higher taxes?" Assume 1,000 respondents
answered the question as follows:
YES - 47%
NO - 48%
DON'T KNOW - 5%
The sampling error for the "YES" percentage of 47% would be
________
+/-(1.96) |(47)(53) = +/-3.1%;
\| 1,000
for the "NO" percentage of 48% it would be
________
+/-(1.96) |(48)(52) = +/-3.1%;
\| 1,000
and for the "DON'T KNOW" percentage of 5% it would be
________
+/-(1.96) |(5)(95) = +/-1.4%;
\| 1,000
In this case we would expect the true population figures to be within the following ranges:
YES 43.9% - 50.1% (i.e., 47% +/-3.1%)
NO 44.9% - 51.1% (i.e., 48% +/-3.1%)
DON'T KNOW 3.6% - 6.4% (i.e., 5% +/-1.4%)
Weighting of the Data
To avoid biasing the sample in favor of households which can be reached through more than one
telephone number, each case is weighted inversely to its probability of being included in the sample. In
addition, the data are weighted to correct for sampling biases due to size of household (i.e., number of
persons aged 18 and over living in the household). Finally, the data have been weighted to correct for
potential sampling biases on sex and county of residence, using 2000 U.S. Census data. When using the
SPSS data set, CENSUSWT should be applied for all data analyses in which the individual adult is the
desired unit of analysis.
APPENDIX A
DETAILED TABULAR RESULTS
University of New Hampshire A - 1
Survey Center
Q1A: “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the very lowest rating and 5 being the very highest, please tell me how well you think the courts criminal cases involving violence, such as robbery.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’ t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 5 % 18 % 23 % 12 % 4 % 34 % 764
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 6 4 22 29 16 3 20 160
Not been to Court 3 5 17 22 11 4 38 601
Sex
Male 5 5 19 28 15 1 27 372
Female 3 5 18 18 10 6 41 393
Race of Respondent
White 3 5 18 24 12 3 34 714
Other 10 0 20 20 5 8 38 30
Age
18 to 29 3 4 10 31 12 0 40 84
30 to 39 6 5 15 18 8 5 42 134
40 to 49 3 3 18 29 11 3 34 196
50 to 59 2 4 25 17 15 5 32 173
60 to 69 4 11 19 25 13 5 23 97
70 or older 3 2 12 27 18 3 35 54
Marital Status
Married 3 5 19 25 12 4 33 510
Divorced/Separated 4 7 22 18 10 3 36 114
Never married 5 6 12 25 14 2 37 126
Level of Education
High school or less 3 6 16 25 15 2 33 191
Technical school/Some college 5 7 22 25 13 3 26 176
College graduate 4 4 15 24 8 5 39 226
Postgraduate work 3 3 21 19 14 4 37 164
University of New Hampshire A - 2
Survey Center
Q1A: “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the very lowest rating and 5 being the very highest, please tell me how well you think the courts criminal cases involving violence, such as robbery.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 5 % 18 % 23 % 12 % 4 % 34 % 764
Household Income
Less than $30,000 4 6 21 23 13 1 31 89
$30,000 to $59,999 4 4 19 25 12 3 33 162
$60,000 to $74,999 5 8 15 24 14 5 29 95
$75,000 to $99,999 5 4 19 24 13 5 31 69
$100,000 or more 2 4 18 23 16 2 34 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 0 4 7 6 12 9 63 37
3 to 5 years 8 2 5 17 7 1 60 49
6 to 10 years 4 1 16 29 11 3 36 70
11 to 20 years 4 5 23 26 11 5 27 162
20 or more years 4 6 19 24 13 3 31 436
Adults in Household
One 1 6 18 16 12 4 43 111
Two 4 5 18 24 12 3 33 436
Three or more 3 5 18 28 12 4 30 197
Region of State
Northern NH 1 5 24 26 16 2 26 102
Western NH 4 6 12 28 16 7 27 72
Central/Lakes 6 6 20 24 14 4 26 120
Hillsborough County 7 4 17 22 8 3 39 232
Seacoast 1 5 18 21 13 4 39 239
Executive District
1st District 1 6 20 28 18 3 24 153
2nd District 6 5 19 23 11 5 31 165
3rd District 1 3 18 21 15 2 41 156
4th District 6 8 16 26 7 7 30 141
5th District 5 3 18 19 10 1 44 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 3
Survey Center
Q1B: “On a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being the very lowest rating and 5 being the very highest, please tell me how well you think the courts criminal cases involving drug abusers or drunk drivers.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ll NH Adults 6% 11 % 19 % 20 % 12 % 3% 30 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 8 12 26 21 14 3 17 160
Not been to Court 5 10 18 19 11 3 33 599
Sex
Male 7 12 17 23 14 2 25 369
Female 4 10 21 17 9 4 35 393
Race of Respondent
White 5 11 19 20 12 3 30 713
Other 7 12 28 19 8 4 21 30
Age
18 to 29 8 17 21 6 19 0 30 84
30 to 39 5 8 21 17 8 4 37 132
40 to 49 1 9 24 24 11 1 31 197
50 to 59 6 11 18 22 13 4 27 173
60 to 69 12 17 12 23 9 5 21 96
70 or older 6 9 16 22 14 4 29 54
Marital Status
Married 5 11 19 22 11 3 29 508
Divorced/Separated 5 12 20 21 8 2 31 114
Never married 5 12 21 10 17 2 34 127
Level of Education
High school or less 6 12 16 21 17 2 26 191
Technical school/Some college 6 17 23 20 11 2 21 176
College graduate 5 8 19 21 7 4 36 226
Postgraduate work 6 7 20 17 11 5 35 163
University of New Hampshire A - 4
Survey Center
Q1B: “On a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being the very lowest rating and 5 being the very highest, please tell me how well you think the courts criminal cases involving drug abusers or drunk drivers.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ll NH Adults 6% 11 % 19 % 20 % 12 % 3% 30 % 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 7 15 20 19 10 2 26 89
$30,000 to $59,999 4 12 18 23 14 3 26 162
$60,000 to $74,999 5 9 19 25 10 4 27 95
$75,000 to $99,999 8 13 17 16 16 0 29 69
$100,000 or more 3 8 24 21 12 2 31 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 5 2 13 3 12 10 56 38
3 to 5 years 4 1 12 18 7 1 56 49
6 to 10 years 5 8 17 19 13 5 33 70
11 to 20 years 5 12 23 19 13 3 24 161
20 or more years 6 13 20 21 11 2 26 435
Adults in Household
One 5 7 13 23 9 5 39 111
Two 6 11 19 20 11 3 30 435
Three or more 5 14 21 20 14 3 23 197
Region of State
Northern NH 5 12 24 19 14 1 26 102
Western NH 5 17 11 25 10 7 26 72
Central/Lakes 4 16 21 22 13 4 20 118
Hillsborough County 9 8 17 20 10 2 34 232
Seacoast 4 9 21 17 12 3 34 238
Executive District
1st District 5 14 21 20 17 2 21 153
2nd District 7 12 18 22 10 5 26 164
3rd District 2 9 22 16 12 1 37 155
4th District 9 11 19 24 10 5 22 142
5th District 5 8 17 16 10 2 43 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 5
Survey Center
Q1C: “On a scale from 1 to 5 … Tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle civil cases such as auto accidents and malpractice _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 7 % 21 % 14 % 7 % 6% 43 % 76 2
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 5 9 23 18 12 4 29 160
Not been to Court 3 6 20 13 5 6 47 599
Sex
Male 5 10 22 15 9 3 36 369
Female 2 4 20 14 4 8 49 393
Race of Respondent
White 3 7 21 15 7 5 43 713
Other 8 4 28 9 3 16 31 30
Age
18 to 29 2 11 18 21 8 0 41 84
30 to 39 4 6 27 10 3 4 47 132
40 to 49 2 8 17 16 8 8 43 197
50 to 59 4 5 23 11 8 7 42 171
60 to 69 6 6 24 13 5 8 38 97
70 or older 3 1 15 24 11 5 41 54
Marital Status
Married 3 6 19 15 8 7 42 509
Divorced/Separated 4 5 23 16 3 5 45 113
Never married 3 9 27 11 7 1 42 127
Level of Education
High school or less 3 6 26 15 7 5 39 191
Technical school/Some college 5 9 27 15 7 4 33 175
College graduate 2 4 19 12 5 7 50 226
Postgraduate work 3 7 11 16 8 6 48 164
University of New Hampshire A - 6
Survey Center
Q1C: “On a scale from 1 to 5 … Tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle civil cases such as auto accidents and malpractice _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 7 % 21 % 14 % 7 % 6% 43 % 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 3 13 22 17 6 5 35 89
$30,000 to $59,999 3 3 22 18 5 4 45 162
$60,000 to $74,999 3 10 24 13 3 5 41 95
$75,000 to $99,999 9 6 19 15 4 5 42 68
$100,000 or more 3 5 20 9 14 7 41 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 0 3 9 14 4 9 61 38
3 to 5 years 4 7 18 3 2 3 63 49
6 to 10 years 3 11 14 19 5 4 43 70
11 to 20 years 2 6 21 15 6 12 38 162
20 or more years 4 6 23 14 8 3 41 434
Adults in Household
One 2 5 17 15 4 6 50 111
Two 3 6 23 14 6 4 44 435
Three or more 5 8 18 15 10 9 35 197
Region of State
Northern NH 6 5 20 18 6 4 41 102
Western NH 1 7 27 14 9 7 35 72
Central/Lakes 4 9 19 11 13 7 37 120
Hillsborough County 4 8 21 10 4 6 47 232
Seacoast 1 5 20 18 6 5 45 237
Executive District
1st District 5 6 21 18 8 3 39 153
2nd District 4 9 20 13 7 10 38 164
3rd District 1 5 19 16 8 2 49 155
4th District 6 6 26 15 4 8 36 142
5th District 1 8 18 10 6 5 53 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 7
Survey Center
Q1D: “On a scale from 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle family relations cases, such as divorce, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 6% 9 % 20 % 19 % 5 % 4 % 38 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 9 11 17 24 11 4 24 160
Not been to Court 5 8 20 17 4 4 42 599
Sex
Male 6 11 20 22 5 3 32 370
Female 6 7 19 16 6 5 43 392
Race of Respondent
White 6 9 20 19 5 4 38 713
Other 0 7 21 26 9 9 27 30
Age
18 to 29 2 10 30 7 7 1 43 84
30 to 39 5 6 15 25 5 3 42 132
40 to 49 4 12 19 22 6 4 33 196
50 to 59 8 10 21 16 5 6 34 173
60 to 69 5 6 19 20 4 6 39 97
70 or older 10 2 16 17 6 5 43 53
Marital Status
Married 5 8 18 21 5 5 38 508
Divorced/Separated 12 9 18 16 6 2 37 113
Never married 3 10 27 13 7 2 37 127
Level of Education
High school or less 6 6 21 19 6 4 38 190
Technical school/Some college 10 11 24 20 6 1 28 176
College graduate 3 8 16 18 6 4 44 225
Postgraduate work 6 9 18 17 4 7 39 164
University of New Hampshire A - 8
Survey Center
Q1D: “On a scale from 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle family relations cases, such as divorce, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 6% 9 % 20 % 19 % 5 % 4 % 38 % 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 7 9 23 17 7 5 33 89
$30,000 to $59,999 8 5 18 25 5 5 35 162
$60,000 to $74,999 3 16 18 22 3 7 31 95
$75,000 to $99,999 5 14 17 25 3 4 31 69
$100,000 or more 5 11 21 12 8 2 41 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 7 7 10 9 3 11 52 38
3 to 5 years 1 6 11 19 1 2 60 49
6 to 10 years 4 6 21 15 7 7 40 70
11 to 20 years 8 9 20 18 6 4 36 162
20 or more years 6 9 21 20 6 3 35 434
Adults in Household
One 10 11 13 15 5 3 42 111
Two 5 8 21 20 4 4 37 436
Three or more 5 8 18 18 8 5 37 197
Region of State
Northern NH 4 12 17 24 10 0 33 101
Western NH 6 9 18 18 10 6 32 72
Central/Lakes 6 9 23 20 3 9 31 120
Hillsborough County 8 9 16 19 3 2 43 231
Seacoast 5 7 23 15 6 4 40 238
Executive District
1st District 3 11 21 24 8 1 31 152
2nd District 7 11 18 17 5 9 33 165
3rd District 4 6 24 17 6 2 41 155
4th District 9 9 16 22 4 4 36 141
5th District 7 6 18 13 4 4 48 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 9
Survey Center
Q1E: “On a scale from 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle juvenile delinquency cases”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 9 % 21 % 15 % 6 % 4 % 40 % 764
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 5 12 20 22 8 4 31 160
Not been to Court 5 8 21 13 6 4 43 600
Sex
Male 7 9 23 16 7 3 36 370
Female 3 9 19 14 5 5 45 393
Race of Respondent
White 4 9 20 16 6 4 41 714
Other 14 4 38 7 1 8 28 30
Age
18 to 29 6 8 16 21 8 0 41 84
30 to 39 6 5 17 15 3 5 49 132
40 to 49 2 12 26 14 6 3 38 197
50 to 59 4 9 20 17 9 5 37 173
60 to 69 9 10 21 16 4 5 36 97
70 or older 2 6 22 12 9 6 44 54
Marital Status
Married 3 9 22 16 6 5 39 509
Divorced/Separated 8 9 20 12 3 3 44 114
Never married 6 10 16 16 9 2 41 127
Level of Education
High school or less 6 10 21 17 8 2 36 191
Technical school/Some college 5 10 24 13 8 6 35 176
College graduate 4 8 22 16 4 5 43 226
Postgraduate work 5 9 16 15 6 4 46 164
University of New Hampshire A - 10
Survey Center
Q1E: “On a scale from 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think the courts in your community handle juvenile delinquen cy cases”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 9 % 21 % 15 % 6 % 4 % 40 % 764
Household Income
Less than $30,000 8 7 19 17 7 3 39 89
$30,000 to $59,999 2 10 23 15 6 5 39 162
$60,000 to $74,999 7 11 21 17 3 5 35 95
$75,000 to $99,999 5 14 18 16 4 3 39 69
$100,000 or more 3 9 17 19 11 5 36 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 3 4 7 15 3 9 59 38
3 to 5 years 8 0 9 10 5 1 67 49
6 to 10 years 1 4 17 20 7 5 46 70
11 to 20 years 5 10 24 17 8 5 31 162
20 or more years 5 11 22 15 6 3 38 435
Adults in Household
One 4 10 16 10 6 5 49 111
Two 5 9 21 15 5 5 40 436
Three or more 5 8 22 18 10 3 34 197
Region of State
Northern NH 4 15 20 16 6 2 38 102
Western NH 0 14 26 12 3 4 41 72
Central/Lakes 6 9 22 16 8 5 34 120
Hillsborough County 8 7 18 15 5 5 42 232
Seacoast 2 6 21 16 8 4 43 238
Executive District
1st District 3 15 21 18 8 2 33 153
2nd District 6 10 26 9 4 5 40 165
3rd District 3 5 22 17 10 1 44 155
4th District 9 9 21 20 5 6 31 142
5th District 4 7 13 14 5 6 52 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 11
Survey Center
Q1F: “On a scale of 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think courts in your community handle child support cases.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 6% 12 % 18 % 13 % 5 % 4 % 42 % 708
Been to Court i n Past Year
Self or Family 9 17 20 12 8 5 30 149
Not been to Court 5 11 17 13 4 4 46 556
Sex
Male 7 13 21 12 6 4 37 344
Female 5 11 15 13 4 5 47 364
Race of Respondent
White 6 13 17 13 5 4 42 661
Other 5 3 28 17 5 8 35 29
Age
18 to 29 2 8 30 10 6 0 43 74
30 to 39 4 11 19 15 4 3 43 125
40 to 49 6 17 19 15 6 2 35 186
50 to 59 7 15 14 10 3 8 42 157
60 to 69 7 8 15 16 5 7 42 92
70 or older 5 3 13 10 7 6 55 51
Marital Status
Married 6 13 17 14 4 6 41 479
Divorced/Separated 9 11 17 12 9 3 39 103
Never married 4 12 23 9 7 0 45 113
Level of Education
High school or less 7 11 19 14 7 3 39 182
Technical school/Some college 8 18 20 15 4 4 32 158
College graduate 4 10 21 10 5 4 47 208
Postgraduate work 5 12 10 13 3 7 49 155
University of New Hampshire A - 12
Survey Center
Q1F: “On a scale of 1 to 5… Please tell me how well you think courts in your community handle child support cases.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowest 2 3 4 Highest Not Don’t Know/ Number
Familiar Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 6% 12% 18 % 13 % 5 % 4 % 42 % 708
Household Income
Less than $30,000 8 14 16 12 11 2 37 80
$30,000 to $59,999 5 11 17 21 4 4 38 145
$60,000 to $74,999 6 12 26 7 1 7 42 88
$75,000 to $99,999 6 11 22 14 8 2 38 66
$100,000 or more 5 14 18 10 6 3 43 135
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 5 0 7 14 1 10 64 37
3 to 5 years 2 8 10 7 5 0 68 47
6 to 10 years 4 9 23 8 7 6 43 63
11 to 20 years 7 16 14 15 5 7 36 149
20 or more years 6 13 20 13 5 3 39 404
Adults in Household
One 5 9 13 11 10 3 48 103
Two 6 13 19 13 4 5 41 406
Three or more 5 13 18 15 4 6 39 182
Region of State
Northern NH 5 12 19 15 4 2 43 95
Western NH 8 14 14 10 9 6 38 66
Central/Lakes 5 15 17 14 5 7 36 111
Hillsborough County 8 9 18 11 5 4 45 216
Seacoast 4 13 18 13 4 4 43 221
Executive District
1st District 4 16 19 13 6 2 40 143
2nd District 7 11 18 13 6 9 36 157
3rd District 5 15 15 12 4 2 47 143
4th District 9 9 22 18 5 4 33 126
5th District 4 10 14 7 5 6 55 141
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 13
Survey Center
Q2A: “On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least favorable, and 5 being the most favorable, how would you rate how you feel in general community? If neutral, use 3.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorable Favorable Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 6 % 58 % 19 % 6 % 6 % 764
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 9 8 50 24 9 0 160
Not been to Court 4 5 60 18 6 7 600
Sex
Male 7 7 53 23 6 4 370
Female 3 6 63 15 6 7 393
Race of Respondent
White 5 6 58 20 6 6 714
Other 0 7 77 9 7 0 30
Age
18 to 29 9 6 58 17 0 11 84
30 to 39 6 5 61 20 2 7 134
40 to 49 2 6 62 17 8 5 197
50 to 59 6 7 53 19 11 4 173
60 to 69 3 8 60 22 6 2 96
70 or older 1 2 50 28 8 11 54
Marital Status
Married 4 5 58 21 7 5 509
Divorced/Separated 5 11 56 17 6 5 114
Never married 7 6 61 14 3 10 127
Level of Education
High school or less 5 5 60 18 6 6 191
Technical school/Some college 5 7 59 17 5 7 176
College graduate 4 7 59 19 7 6 227
Postgraduate work 5 7 54 24 7 4 163
University of New Hampshire A - 14
Survey Center
Q2A: “On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least favorable, and 5 being the most favorable, how would you rate how you feel in general community? If neutral, use 3.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorabl e Favorable Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 6 % 58 % 19 % 6 % 6 % 764
Household Income
Less than $30,000 10 4 63 15 6 2 89
$30,000 to $59,999 1 6 66 20 3 3 162
$60,000 to $74,999 5 5 55 26 5 4 95
$75,000 to $99,999 6 4 44 30 4 12 69
$100,000 or more 7 7 55 18 10 4 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 2 1 47 28 0 22 38
3 to 5 years 5 7 56 20 5 8 49
6 to 10 years 2 6 56 22 4 10 70
11 to 20 years 4 9 57 22 6 2 161
20 or more years 6 6 60 17 7 4 436
Adults in Household
One 4 8 57 16 7 9 111
Two 4 6 59 21 5 6 436
Three or more 7 5 57 18 10 4 197
Region of State
Northern NH 0 9 58 19 10 4 102
Western NH 5 4 64 16 9 2 72
Central/Lakes 4 8 55 20 9 3 118
Hillsborough County 7 7 60 15 4 6 232
Seacoast 4 4 55 23 4 8 240
Executive District
1st District 1 7 58 21 11 3 153
2nd District 7 10 55 17 7 5 164
3rd District 5 4 51 27 6 8 156
4th District 7 2 65 20 2 5 142
5th District 5 8 63 11 5 7 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 15
Survey Center
Q2B: “On a scale of 1 to 5…how would you rate how you feel about your local police?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorable Favorable Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 7% 21% 33% 31% 3% 764
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 11 8 16 33 31 1 159
Not been to Court 2 7 23 34 31 3 602
Sex
Male 5 10 20 32 31 3 372
Female 3 5 23 35 31 3 392
Race of Respondent
White 4 8 21 34 31 2 714
Other 0 6 30 33 23 9 30
Age
18 to 29 4 20 29 19 24 3 84
30 to 39 3 4 21 40 27 4 134
40 to 49 3 4 21 40 29 3 197
50 to 59 6 9 21 29 34 2 173
60 to 69 5 7 16 32 38 3 96
70 or older 1 4 19 31 40 4 54
Marital Status
Married 3 5 20 37 33 2 509
Divorced/Separated 6 9 21 30 30 4 114
Never married 6 15 28 23 23 5 127
Level of Education
High school or less 4 7 23 29 33 3 190
Technical school/Some college 3 9 22 36 28 2 176
College graduate 2 7 23 33 33 3 227
Postgraduate work 7 7 17 36 30 3 164
University of New Hampshire A - 16
Survey Center
Q2B: “On a scale of 1 to 5…how would you rate how you feel about your local police?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorable Favorable Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 7% 21% 33% 31% 3% 764
Household Income
Less than $30,000 4 14 27 28 26 1 89
$30,000 to $59,999 3 5 26 35 29 3 161
$60,000 to $74,999 5 6 18 36 31 5 95
$75,000 to $99,999 6 8 17 34 36 0 69
$100,000 or more 3 10 15 34 34 4 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 0 1 31 32 23 12 38
3 to 5 years 4 4 20 30 39 3 49
6 to 10 years 4 8 20 34 33 1 70
11 to 20 years 6 9 17 33 30 4 162
20 or more years 4 8 22 34 31 2 435
Adults in Household
One 7 7 20 33 28 5 111
Two 4 5 18 37 33 2 436
Three or more 3 13 27 26 28 3 197
Region of State
Northern NH 3 10 27 33 26 2 102
Western NH 5 14 21 29 29 3 72
Central/Lakes 4 6 17 43 30 1 119
Hillsborough County 4 5 25 32 30 4 232
Seacoast 4 8 18 32 35 2 240
Executive District
1st District 2 9 22 37 28 2 153
2nd District 5 8 22 32 28 5 164
3rd District 4 7 14 34 38 3 156
4th District 5 6 26 34 29 1 142
5th District 4 8 24 31 31 2 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 17
Survey Center
Q2C: “Using the same scale, how would you rate how you feel about your local schools”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorable Favorable Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 10 % 21 % 34 % 21 % 7 % 762
Been to Court i n Past Year
Self or Family 10 10 18 32 23 8 160
Not been to Court 6 10 22 34 21 7 599
Sex
Male 6 10 24 34 19 8 369
Female 7 11 18 33 24 7 393
Race of Respondent
White 6 11 21 34 21 8 714
Other 9 10 28 23 25 4 30
Age
18 to 29 13 10 22 32 15 9 84
30 to 39 4 10 19 34 22 10 134
40 to 49 4 8 21 37 25 5 196
50 to 59 9 13 22 32 19 5 170
60 to 69 5 18 17 29 23 8 97
70 or older 4 4 21 30 27 15 54
Marital Status
Married 6 12 19 34 24 5 507
Divorced/Separated 3 7 27 33 20 10 114
Never married 8 10 23 32 13 14 127
Level of Education
High school or less 5 8 22 33 22 10 190
Technical school/Some college 7 8 24 30 22 10 176
College graduate 6 15 20 33 21 6 225
Postgraduate work 7 10 18 39 21 5 164
University of New Hampshire A - 18
Survey Center
Q2C: “Using the same scale, how would you rate how you feel about your local schools”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Least 2 3 4 Most Don’t Know/ Number
Favorable Favor able Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 10% 21% 34% 21% 7% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 6 11 28 24 21 11 89
$30,000 to $59,999 9 10 18 39 20 5 162
$60,000 to $74,999 5 13 17 41 19 5 95
$75,000 to $99,999 7 11 21 43 16 2 69
$100,000 or more 6 8 22 31 25 8 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 7 10 4 33 22 24 38
3 to 5 years 5 15 16 29 22 12 49
6 to 10 years 4 4 21 48 18 6 70
11 to 20 years 9 14 18 32 19 7 160
20 or more years 6 10 24 32 22 6 436
Adults in Household
One 4 6 19 31 25 16 111
Two 5 13 21 35 21 6 436
Three or more 10 9 23 30 21 6 197
Region of State
Northern NH 8 10 24 33 19 5 101
Western NH 6 19 24 33 11 7 72
Central/Lakes 6 10 18 38 22 7 119
Hillsborough County 9 11 22 27 20 11 230
Seacoast 4 7 20 38 25 6 240
Executive District
1st District 8 12 24 30 22 4 152
2nd District 6 16 20 30 19 9 165
3rd District 3 4 18 40 27 8 156
4th District 6 12 20 34 22 6 141
5th District 10 9 22 33 15 10 148
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 19
Survey Center
Q3A: “How often do you think people receive fair outcomes when they deal with the courts? Would you say they always, usually, sometimes, outcomes?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Number Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 54 % 34 % 6 % 1% 620
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 6 51 28 11 4 146
Not been to Court 5 55 36 5 0 471
Sex
Male 5 57 29 8 1 315
Female 5 51 39 5 1 305
Race of Respondent
White 5 54 34 6 1 577
Other 11 52 34 3 0 27
Age
18 to 29 3 65 24 9 0 66
30 to 39 4 58 31 8 0 98
40 to 49 4 56 36 3 1 165
50 to 59 7 50 34 6 3 149
60 to 69 7 44 42 7 0 81
70 or older 8 56 33 1 1 40
Marital Status
Married 5 57 32 5 1 417
Divorced/Separated 5 47 39 8 1 94
Never married 6 50 36 7 2 98
Level of Education
High school or less 4 51 35 7 2 161
Technical school/Some college 5 48 39 7 1 146
College graduate 9 52 32 7 0 173
Postgraduate work 0 65 29 3 2 135
University of New Hampshire A - 20
Survey Center
Q3A: “How often do you think people receive fair outcomes when they deal with the courts? Would you say they always, usually, sometimes, outcomes?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Numb er Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 54 % 34 % 6% 1 % 620
Household Income
Less than $30,000 4 52 31 12 1 71
$30,000 to $59,999 4 59 30 6 1 139
$60,000 to $74,999 8 53 32 5 1 80
$75,000 to $99,999 4 47 43 3 4 56
$100,000 or more 5 58 32 5 0 127
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 0 73 27 0 0 23
3 to 5 years 0 50 46 4 0 30
6 to 10 years 3 60 32 5 0 56
11 to 20 years 6 57 30 6 2 137
20 or more years 6 50 35 7 1 366
Adults in Household
One 5 50 36 7 2 84
Two 4 57 32 6 1 352
Three or more 7 51 36 6 1 168
Region of State
Northern NH 3 58 34 4 2 84
Western NH 7 59 27 3 5 58
Central/Lakes 6 57 35 1 2 104
Hillsborough County 5 49 35 11 0 186
Seacoast 5 53 35 7 0 189
Executive District
1st District 5 61 30 3 2 129
2nd District 2 49 40 5 4 139
3rd District 6 55 33 6 0 120
4th District 5 50 36 9 0 126
5th District 8 53 30 9 0 106
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 21
Survey Center
Q3B: “How often do you think the courts use fair procedures in handling cases?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Somet imes Seldom Never Number Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 11% 58 % 25 % 5 % 2 % 653
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 15 47 27 7 5 151
Not been to Court 10 61 24 5 1 500
Sex
Male 13 55 24 6 2 342
Female 8 61 25 4 1 311
Race of Respondent
White 11 58 24 5 2 610
Other 11 54 22 12 0 27
Age
18 to 29 6 65 22 6 1 71
30 to 39 11 57 22 9 1 108
40 to 49 11 58 27 3 1 165
50 to 59 13 58 21 5 2 153
60 to 69 12 47 34 5 2 86
70 or older 10 70 16 4 0 47
Marital Status
Married 12 61 21 4 2 442
Divorced/Separated 7 49 33 8 3 98
Never married 10 53 30 7 1 104
Level of Education
High school or less 9 51 30 8 3 169
Technical school/Some college 10 54 32 4 0 152
College graduate 14 59 21 4 2 185
Postgraduate work 11 68 16 4 1 141
University of New Hampshire A - 22
Survey Center
Q3B: “How often do you think the courts use fair procedures in handling cases?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Number Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 11% 58 % 25 % 5 % 2 % 653
Household Income
Less than $30,000 12 48 25 12 3 78
$30,000 to $59,999 12 60 22 5 2 147
$60,000 to $74,999 15 60 21 4 1 80
$75,000 to $99,999 8 55 29 4 3 61
$100,000 or more 11 62 26 2 0 129
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 10 67 16 8 0 23
3 to 5 years 8 53 30 8 1 34
6 to 10 years 9 60 26 4 1 58
11 to 20 years 17 56 21 3 3 149
20 or more years 9 58 26 6 1 382
Adults in Household
One 10 49 31 8 3 89
Two 11 59 24 5 0 371
Three or more 11 60 23 3 3 178
Region of State
Northern NH 10 62 26 2 0 88
Western NH 16 63 14 7 0 63
Central/Lakes 8 61 26 2 3 107
Hillsborough County 12 48 30 7 2 195
Seacoast 10 61 22 6 1 201
Executive District
1st District 13 61 22 3 1 136
2nd District 8 53 34 3 2 144
3rd District 11 65 15 7 2 127
4th District 8 55 28 8 1 125
5th District 15 54 24 6 2 120
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 23
Survey Center
Q4A: “The courts are concerned with people’s rights. Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat dis agree, or strongly disagree?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree D isagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 35% 42 % 8 % 5 % 10 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 40 43 9 7 1 158
Not been to Court 33 42 8 4 13 600
Sex
Male 40 38 9 7 6 369
Female 30 45 7 4 14 393
Race of Respondent
White 35 42 8 5 11 712
Other 40 25 23 9 2 30
Age
18 to 29 38 35 8 9 10 84
30 to 39 43 34 5 2 16 132
40 to 49 31 47 7 4 10 195
50 to 59 37 39 9 7 8 173
60 to 69 25 51 9 8 7 97
70 or older 35 41 7 4 12 54
Marital Status
Married 38 42 7 3 10 507
Divorced/Separated 24 49 11 9 7 114
Never married 33 34 8 10 15 127
Level of Education
High school or less 33 42 9 8 9 190
Technical school/Some college 33 42 11 8 6 176
College graduate 36 43 5 2 14 224
Postgraduate work 37 38 8 4 13 164
University of New Hampshire A - 24
Survey Center
Q4A: “The courts are concerned with people’s rights. Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree?”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 35% 42% 8% 5% 10% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 25 40 11 11 13 89
$30,000 to $59,999 40 41 8 4 7 162
$60,000 to $74,999 39 38 7 7 9 95
$75,000 to $99,999 30 46 6 7 11 69
$100,000 or more 43 39 6 3 9 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 31 35 3 0 32 38
3 to 5 years 36 24 10 5 25 49
6 to 10 years 46 34 10 0 11 70
11 to 20 years 34 42 10 6 8 162
20 or more years 33 45 8 6 8 433
Adults in Household
One 26 40 9 8 16 111
Two 35 42 8 5 11 434
Three or more 41 41 8 5 6 197
Region of State
Northern NH 35 48 5 3 8 102
Western NH 35 41 8 4 12 72
Central/Lakes 35 43 13 3 6 120
Hillsborough County 32 42 8 7 11 232
Seacoast 37 39 7 5 12 237
Executive District
1st District 38 47 4 3 7 153
2nd District 28 43 14 6 9 164
3rd District 36 41 6 4 13 155
4th District 32 39 12 9 9 141
5th District 40 39 5 5 12 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 25
Survey Center
Q4B: “The courts treat people with dignity and respect.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 34% 39 % 8 % 5 % 14 % 761
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 46 34 7 9 4 160
Not been to Court 30 41 8 4 17 598
Sex
Male 39 38 7 6 10 368
Female 29 41 8 4 18 393
Race of Respondent
White 34 40 8 4 14 713
Other 23 47 9 11 10 30
Age
18 to 29 34 32 12 5 16 84
30 to 39 34 42 1 7 17 132
40 to 49 32 42 7 3 17 196
50 to 59 34 42 8 6 10 173
60 to 69 36 35 12 6 10 97
70 or older 33 46 5 1 14 54
Marital Status
Married 35 40 6 4 14 509
Divorced/Separated 25 46 12 6 11 113
Never married 35 33 10 6 17 127
Level of Education
High school or less 30 43 11 4 12 191
Technical school/Some college 35 39 11 7 8 175
College graduate 35 38 5 2 20 224
Postgraduate work 34 39 5 5 16 164
University of New Hampshire A - 26
Survey Center
Q4B: “The courts treat people with dignity and respect.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Str ongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 34% 39% 8% 5% 14% 761
Household Income
Less than $30,000 26 38 11 11 14 89
$30,000 to $59,999 38 38 9 3 12 162
$60,000 to $74,999 35 41 9 5 9 95
$75,000 to $99,999 23 49 4 7 17 69
$100,000 or more 43 41 5 2 9 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 37 14 9 3 38 38
3 to 5 years 27 37 1 7 27 49
6 to 10 years 25 42 8 8 16 70
11 to 20 years 40 36 7 5 12 160
20 or more years 32 43 9 4 12 435
Adults in Household
One 25 44 10 5 17 111
Two 35 38 9 5 14 436
Three or more 37 41 4 5 14 197
Region of State
Northern NH 34 44 7 3 12 101
Western NH 33 35 5 6 20 72
Central/Lakes 37 38 12 6 7 120
Hillsborough County 30 41 6 6 16 230
Seacoast 36 38 8 3 15 238
Executive District
1st District 38 43 6 2 11 152
2nd District 29 40 11 7 12 165
3rd District 36 38 8 3 15 155
4th District 35 41 7 5 11 142
5th District 31 34 7 6 22 148
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 27
Survey Center
Q4C: “The courts make decisions based on the facts.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 28% 45 % 10 % 6 % 12 % 760
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 34 44 10 9 4 158
Not been to Court 27 45 10 5 14 598
Sex
Male 32 44 10 6 8 370
Female 25 46 9 5 15 390
Race of Respondent
White 28 45 10 5 12 711
Other 23 49 9 11 7 30
Age
18 to 29 26 49 6 8 11 84
30 to 39 30 44 7 3 16 132
40 to 49 32 42 9 5 12 195
50 to 59 28 47 11 7 8 172
60 to 69 21 47 14 5 13 96
70 or older 24 45 18 3 10 54
Marital Status
Married 29 48 9 3 10 506
Divorced/Separated 22 39 16 13 9 114
Never married 28 38 9 8 17 127
Level of Education
High school or less 32 43 6 10 8 190
Technical school/Some college 24 43 18 7 9 176
College graduate 26 50 8 1 15 225
Postgraduate work 30 41 9 5 14 162
University of New Hampshire A - 28
Survey Center
Q4C: “The courts make decisions based on the facts.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Dis agree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 28% 45% 10% 6% 12% 760
Household Income
Less than $30,000 23 43 9 11 13 89
$30,000 to $59,999 30 47 8 5 10 161
$60,000 to $74,999 26 46 14 5 9 93
$75,000 to $99,999 26 45 11 6 12 69
$100,000 or more 30 52 9 2 7 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 29 24 8 3 36 38
3 to 5 years 28 35 3 8 27 49
6 to 10 years 30 49 6 3 12 70
11 to 20 years 31 48 8 6 8 160
20 or more years 27 46 12 6 9 434
Adults in Household
One 24 36 14 9 18 111
Two 27 46 10 5 12 434
Three or more 33 46 9 5 7 196
Region of State
Northern NH 28 44 9 4 15 101
Western NH 32 36 11 5 15 72
Central/Lakes 28 52 7 5 7 117
Hillsborough County 29 42 12 7 11 232
Seacoast 26 47 9 5 13 238
Executive District
1st District 29 47 7 3 14 152
2nd District 26 44 12 8 10 162
3rd District 29 45 8 5 13 154
4th District 26 47 13 6 7 142
5th District 30 41 9 4 15 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 29
Survey Center
Q4D: “Courts listen carefully to what people have to say.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stro ngly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 21% 43 % 14 % 7 % 15 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 27 45 17 10 3 160
Not been to Court 19 43 13 6 19 599
Sex
Male 24 41 13 10 11 370
Female 17 44 14 5 19 392
Race of Respondent
White 20 44 13 7 16 713
Other 17 25 28 19 10 30
Age
18 to 29 13 49 13 10 15 84
30 to 39 19 48 10 6 18 132
40 to 49 19 44 13 6 17 197
50 to 59 22 44 16 7 10 173
60 to 69 25 33 13 10 19 96
70 or older 24 32 20 5 19 54
Marital Status
Married 22 44 13 6 15 507
Divorced/Separated 15 44 16 10 14 114
Never married 18 38 16 11 18 127
Level of Education
High school or less 25 40 17 7 12 189
Technical school/Some college 14 47 14 11 13 176
College graduate 22 44 9 6 20 226
Postgraduate work 19 40 17 6 17 164
University of New Hampshire A - 30
Survey Center
Q4D: “Courts listen carefully to what people have to say.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongl y Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 21% 43% 14% 7% 15% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 20 37 17 9 16 89
$30,000 to $59,999 24 40 14 8 15 162
$60,000 to $74,999 18 49 17 6 11 95
$75,000 to $99,999 11 53 12 9 15 69
$100,000 or more 26 42 16 6 9 144
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 21 23 7 6 43 38
3 to 5 years 13 27 14 8 38 49
6 to 10 years 16 44 14 9 17 70
11 to 20 years 24 42 17 6 11 162
20 or more years 21 46 13 7 12 434
Adults in Household
One 17 37 13 10 23 111
Two 20 42 14 8 16 436
Three or more 23 47 15 6 9 196
Region of State
Northern NH 18 45 16 7 15 102
Western NH 29 35 11 8 17 72
Central/Lakes 21 51 14 6 9 120
Hillsborough County 16 46 12 9 17 232
Seacoast 23 37 16 7 17 237
Executive District
1st District 22 44 14 5 15 153
2nd District 18 45 16 9 12 165
3rd District 21 39 18 6 17 153
4th District 24 44 13 9 11 142
5th District 18 43 8 8 23 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 31
Survey Center
Q4E: “Courts are sensitive to the concerns of the average citizen.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 18% 45 % 15 % 9 % 13 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 23 43 17 13 4 159
Not been to Court 17 46 14 8 15 599
Sex
Male 22 44 14 12 8 370
Female 14 47 16 6 18 391
Race of Respondent
White 18 46 15 9 13 712
Other 15 43 22 9 10 30
Age
18 to 29 21 37 9 16 18 84
30 to 39 15 52 9 7 18 132
40 to 49 15 48 20 5 12 196
50 to 59 20 45 16 10 9 173
60 to 69 18 42 13 16 11 97
70 or older 20 48 20 2 10 52
Marital Status
Married 20 48 16 6 10 507
Divorced/Separated 12 44 18 13 13 114
Never married 16 36 10 17 21 127
Level of Education
High school or less 20 43 14 10 12 191
Technical school/Some college 15 49 15 12 8 176
College graduate 17 46 14 8 16 225
Postgraduate work 18 43 17 7 14 163
University of New Hampshire A - 32
Survey Center
Q4E: “Courts are sensitive to the concerns of the average citizen.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 18% 45% 15% 9% 13% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 13 45 12 19 12 89
$30,000 to $59,999 19 48 13 9 11 161
$60,000 to $74,999 20 43 21 9 7 95
$75,000 to $99,999 11 49 12 11 15 69
$100,000 or more 22 45 16 7 10 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 25 28 9 2 36 38
3 to 5 years 25 25 9 9 32 49
6 to 10 years 19 45 18 6 12 70
11 to 20 years 19 46 13 10 12 161
20 or more years 15 49 16 10 9 434
Adults in Household
One 12 44 14 11 20 111
Two 18 46 15 8 13 434
Three or more 21 45 16 10 8 197
Region of State
Northern NH 16 51 14 8 11 102
Western NH 22 38 14 11 15 71
Central/Lakes 17 52 15 9 6 120
Hillsborough County 18 44 12 12 14 232
Seacoast 17 43 18 6 15 237
Executive District
1st District 19 50 12 7 11 152
2nd District 11 50 16 12 11 165
3rd District 19 40 20 6 15 154
4th District 19 45 15 9 12 142
5th District 21 41 10 12 16 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 33
Survey Center
Q4F: “It is affordable to bring a case to court.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree No t Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 20 % 23 % 30 % 21% 763
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 10 21 17 37 14 159
Not been to Court 6 20 24 28 22 599
Sex
Male 9 23 21 30 17 370
Female 5 17 24 30 24 392
Race of Respondent
White 7 20 23 29 21 713
Other 5 21 16 44 14 30
Age
18 to 29 11 26 21 20 21 84
30 to 39 10 20 25 26 20 132
40 to 49 2 19 21 37 21 196
50 to 59 6 18 22 34 21 173
60 to 69 9 19 25 30 18 97
70 or older 7 24 29 15 26 54
Marital Status
Married 7 21 22 28 20 508
Divorced/Separated 4 21 26 33 16 114
Never married 8 14 22 34 23 127
Level of Education
High school or less 9 24 18 31 17 191
Technical school/Some college 6 21 20 36 17 176
College graduate 7 14 30 22 27 224
Postgraduate work 5 20 21 34 19 164
University of New Hampshire A - 34
Survey Center
Q4F: “It is affordable to bring a case to court.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 20% 23% 30% 21% 763
Household Income
Less than $30,000 14 16 17 38 14 89
$30,000 to $59,999 6 23 25 25 21 162
$60,000 to $74,999 3 31 22 28 17 95
$75,000 to $99,999 11 16 18 36 20 69
$100,000 or more 7 16 27 35 16 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 4 17 19 14 47 38
3 to 5 years 2 24 12 29 33 49
6 to 10 years 5 24 28 24 19 70
11 to 20 years 9 15 24 34 19 161
20 or more years 8 20 23 32 18 435
Adults in Household
One 4 18 24 28 26 111
Two 7 21 22 31 20 435
Three or more 10 19 23 30 19 197
Region of State
Northern NH 5 16 18 38 23 102
Western NH 10 17 22 28 23 72
Central/Lakes 10 17 27 34 13 119
Hillsborough County 8 21 22 29 19 231
Seacoast 4 23 23 26 24 238
Executive District
1st District 9 17 20 31 22 153
2nd District 4 17 25 39 15 164
3rd District 6 20 22 28 24 154
4th District 6 29 22 24 18 142
5th District 10 17 22 26 24 149
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 35
Survey Center
Q4G: “Court cases are resolved in a timely manner.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongl y Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 10% 30 % 23 % 20 % 18 % 763
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 12 31 21 31 6 160
Not been to Court 9 29 23 17 21 599
Sex
Male 10 33 23 20 14 370
Female 9 27 23 20 22 393
Race of Respondent
White 10 30 23 19 18 713
Other 8 24 23 32 13 30
Age
18 to 29 16 26 26 12 21 84
30 to 39 8 34 20 20 18 132
40 to 49 7 31 26 19 16 197
50 to 59 9 30 24 21 16 172
60 to 69 14 21 17 30 18 97
70 or older 9 33 28 13 18 53
Marital Status
Married 9 31 24 19 17 509
Divorced/Separated 10 26 21 27 16 113
Never married 11 26 23 17 23 126
Level of Education
High school or less 11 36 20 20 13 190
Technical school/Some college 7 31 23 24 15 176
College graduate 14 24 24 17 21 225
Postgraduate work 6 27 26 20 22 164
University of New Hampshire A - 36
Survey Center
Q4G: “Court cases are resolved in a timely manner.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don ’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 10% 30% 23% 20% 18% 763
Household Income
Less than $30,000 14 26 22 21 17 88
$30,000 to $59,999 8 34 26 18 14 162
$60,000 to $74,999 12 28 30 21 9 95
$75,000 to $99,999 9 37 22 16 15 69
$100,000 or more 9 28 22 24 17 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 2 27 8 18 44 38
3 to 5 years 7 29 23 13 29 49
6 to 10 years 19 16 24 23 19 70
11 to 20 years 14 31 23 21 12 162
20 or more years 8 31 24 20 16 434
Adults in Household
One 8 26 22 23 21 110
Two 9 29 23 21 18 436
Three or more 13 32 25 15 15 197
Region of State
Northern NH 11 25 29 18 16 101
Western NH 12 27 19 18 24 72
Central/Lakes 3 30 31 23 12 120
Hillsborough County 11 30 19 23 18 232
Seacoast 10 32 21 17 20 238
Executive District
1st District 12 27 25 20 16 152
2nd District 4 28 26 27 14 165
3rd District 9 33 19 16 22 154
4th District 15 31 24 19 11 142
5th District 9 29 20 16 25 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 37
Survey Center
Q4H: “Court decisions are fair and consistent.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 13% 46 % 17 % 8 % 16 % 763
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 15 48 19 12 5 160
Not been to Court 12 45 17 7 19 599
Sex
Male 16 49 15 10 10 370
Female 10 43 19 7 22 393
Race of Respondent
White 13 46 17 7 17 713
Other 4 41 31 17 7 30
Age
18 to 29 19 36 19 8 17 84
30 to 39 13 46 13 7 20 132
40 to 49 12 51 15 5 16 197
50 to 59 11 43 22 10 14 173
60 to 69 11 48 15 11 15 97
70 or older 9 53 19 5 14 54
Marital Status
Married 13 50 15 7 16 508
Divorced/Separated 6 47 23 13 11 114
Never married 20 29 22 10 19 127
Level of Education
High school or less 15 47 18 6 13 191
Technical school/Some college 11 46 21 10 11 176
College graduate 14 42 14 9 21 226
Postgraduate work 11 48 15 8 18 163
University of New Hampshire A - 38
Survey Center
Q4H: “Court decisions are fair and consistent.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 13% 46% 17% 8% 16% 763
Household Income
Less than $30,000 12 44 20 11 13 89
$30,000 to $59,999 19 45 15 8 13 162
$60,000 to $74,999 12 48 16 9 15 94
$75,000 to $99,999 13 51 9 11 16 69
$100,000 or more 13 47 20 8 12 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 16 36 3 3 42 38
3 to 5 years 14 36 7 10 34 49
6 to 10 years 13 41 24 5 18 70
11 to 20 years 20 41 18 9 12 162
20 or more years 10 50 18 9 13 434
Adults in Household
One 10 40 17 11 22 111
Two 12 48 17 7 17 435
Three or more 17 44 19 8 11 197
R
egion of State
Northern NH 9 55 19 5 12 102
Western NH 18 35 7 14 25 72
Central/Lakes 13 53 21 5 8 120
Hillsborough County 13 38 19 13 17 232
Seacoast 13 48 16 5 18 237
Executive District
1st District 12 54 15 5 14 153
2nd District 10 46 21 11 12 164
3rd District 13 48 14 5 20 155
4th District 13 46 21 9 11 142
5th District 16 34 15 11 24 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 39
Survey Center
Q4I: “The right and views of victims of crime are represented.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 21% 43 % 11 % 7 % 18 % 760
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 24 45 15 6 10 159
Not been to Court 20 42 10 7 20 597
Sex
Male 24 41 12 9 14 368
Female 19 45 10 5 21 391
Race of Respondent
White 21 43 11 7 18 711
Other 16 44 13 6 21 30
Age
18 to 29 28 45 10 5 13 84
30 to 39 21 45 8 4 23 132
40 to 49 20 44 11 4 21 195
50 to 59 22 41 14 11 12 172
60 to 69 17 42 16 7 17 96
70 or older 22 46 8 9 14 54
Marital Status
Married 21 45 12 6 17 506
Divorced/Separated 12 44 13 12 19 113
Never married 30 37 7 7 19 127
Level of Education
High school or less 23 40 15 8 14 190
Technical school/Some college 16 52 10 8 13 175
College graduate 24 39 11 5 21 223
Postgraduate work 19 43 8 8 23 164
University of New Hampshire A - 40
Survey Center
Q4I: “The right and views of victims of crime are represented.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somew hat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 21% 43% 11% 7% 18% 760
Household Income
Less than $30,000 19 41 10 10 20 88
$30,000 to $59,999 22 50 9 3 15 161
$60,000 to $74,999 22 45 12 9 13 95
$75,000 to $99,999 17 44 14 10 15 68
$100,000 or more 23 46 11 5 16 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 25 29 2 2 43 38
3 to 5 years 32 26 9 3 30 49
6 to 10 years 29 32 15 5 19 70
11 to 20 years 22 47 6 12 13 161
20 or more years 18 46 14 7 16 432
Adults in Household
One 17 40 12 6 26 110
Two 20 43 12 6 18 434
Three or more 25 45 10 8 12 197
Region of State
Northern NH 21 46 12 5 17 101
Western NH 18 40 16 5 22 71
Central/Lakes 20 46 10 12 12 119
Hillsborough County 17 47 11 8 17 231
Seacoast 27 38 10 5 20 238
Executive District
1st District 21 47 12 4 16 151
2nd District 18 46 9 11 17 164
3rd District 29 35 11 3 21 155
4th District 23 43 13 9 12 140
5th District 15 44 11 8 23 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 41
Survey Center
Q4J: “Mediation of disputes by courts are handled and decided fairly.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 13% 45 % 11 % 4 % 27 % 708
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 17 49 12 6 15 147
Not been to Court 11 44 11 4 30 557
Sex
Male 12 48 13 5 22 347
Female 13 41 9 4 32 361
Race of Respondent
White 13 45 11 4 28 662
Other 5 50 13 14 18 27
Age
18 to 29 19 41 10 2 28 74
30 to 39 17 48 5 3 27 122
40 to 49 12 50 8 4 26 185
50 to 59 11 46 10 5 29 159
60 to 69 11 35 29 2 23 92
70 or older 8 48 7 4 33 51
Marital Status
Married 13 48 10 3 27 481
Divorced/Separated 7 46 12 9 25 103
Never married 18 35 13 4 30 111
Level of Education
High school or less 14 49 11 4 22 182
Technical school/Some college 11 46 16 6 20 157
College graduate 13 42 9 2 34 206
Postgraduate work 12 42 8 6 32 157
University of New Hampshire A - 42
Survey Center
Q4J: “Mediation of disputes by courts are handled and decided fairly.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 13% 45% 11% 4% 27% 708
Household Income
Less than $30,000 8 46 16 7 23 79
$30,000 to $59,999 10 54 12 3 22 147
$60,000 to $74,999 22 44 6 5 23 86
$75,000 to $99,999 7 50 14 6 22 65
$100,000 or more 18 48 9 4 21 137
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 16 24 1 4 56 37
3 to 5 years 6 31 6 9 48 45
6 to 10 years 12 47 8 0 33 62
11 to 20 years 16 46 10 7 21 149
20 or more years 12 47 13 4 24 407
Adults in Household
One 8 41 12 6 33 103
Two 12 44 12 3 28 402
Three or more 17 50 8 5 21 185
Region of State
Northern NH 14 50 14 2 21 95
Western NH 9 38 15 4 33 66
Central/Lakes 13 50 11 6 19 111
Hillsborough County 12 43 11 6 29 217
Seacoast 14 44 9 3 30 218
Executive District
1st District 14 47 14 1 23 142
2nd District 10 50 9 7 24 155
3rd District 15 41 10 3 31 142
4th District 13 49 12 4 22 127
5th District 10 36 11 7 35 143
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 43
Survey Center
Q5A: “An African American… Do [the courts] always, often, sometimes, rarely, or never treat African Americans worse than they treat others?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 11 % 29 % 14 % 12 % 31 % 760
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 3 14 24 19 13 28 158
Not been to Court 3 10 30 13 12 32 598
Sex
Male 4 12 28 16 14 26 368
Female 1 11 29 12 10 36 391
Race of Respondent
White 2 12 29 14 12 31 710
Other 10 2 37 8 13 30 30
Age
18 to 29 3 9 28 22 9 28 84
30 to 39 2 8 37 10 11 31 134
40 to 49 2 13 29 12 10 33 196
50 to 59 5 11 22 17 15 30 171
60 to 69 4 15 28 11 17 26 96
70 or older 0 7 32 16 13 31 51
Marital Status
Married 2 10 29 14 12 32 506
Divorced/Separated 4 10 26 14 11 34 113
Never married 4 16 32 14 11 24 126
Level of Education
High school or less 2 11 34 13 13 27 188
Technical school/Some college 3 15 25 18 15 25 175
College graduate 4 9 30 11 12 34 225
Postgraduate work 2 10 25 16 10 38 164
University of New Hampshire A - 44
Survey Center
Q5A: “An African American… Do [the courts] always, often, sometimes, rarely, or never treat African Americans worse than they treat others?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Respo nding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 11% 29% 14% 12% 31% 760
Household Income
Less than $30,000 3 15 36 10 15 20 88
$30,000 to $59,999 2 9 35 10 14 29 160
$60,000 to $74,999 3 13 28 21 8 29 94
$75,000 to $99,999 6 10 34 9 6 34 69
$100,000 or more 2 9 25 22 17 25 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 0 8 29 10 5 48 38
3 to 5 years 8 5 20 16 8 43 49
6 to 10 years 2 10 40 12 6 29 70
11 to 20 years 4 11 23 20 16 27 162
20 or more years 2 12 30 13 13 30 432
Adults in Household
One 5 9 28 12 7 39 110
Two 3 11 30 14 12 30 434
Three or more 2 13 25 17 15 28 197
Region of State
Northern NH 0 10 34 12 15 29 101
Western NH 4 14 17 8 12 45 72
Central/Lakes 3 12 34 15 12 25 117
Hillsborough County 5 11 27 16 14 28 232
Seacoast 2 11 29 14 9 34 238
Executive District
1st District 1 8 31 12 15 32 150
2nd District 3 12 27 14 9 34 163
3rd District 2 12 29 14 7 36 155
4th District 6 14 33 15 12 19 142
5th District 2 10 23 15 18 32 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 45
Survey Center
Q5B: “Latinos or Hispanics…Do [the courts] always, often, sometimes, rarely or never treat Latinos or Hispanics worse than they treat _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 13 % 29 % 11 % 11 % 33 % 757
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 2 17 28 13 13 28 157
Not been to Court 3 11 30 11 10 34 596
Sex
Male 5 14 30 12 12 27 364
Female 1 11 29 10 9 39 392
Race of Respondent
White 3 13 29 12 11 33 708
Other 7 3 40 7 8 35 30
Age
18 to 29 8 15 27 15 8 27 84
30 to 39 1 11 33 12 9 34 134
40 to 49 2 13 32 11 8 34 192
50 to 59 4 11 26 12 14 33 170
60 to 69 5 16 23 7 15 34 96
70 or older 0 7 38 10 13 31 54
Marital Status
Married 2 11 30 12 11 34 505
Divorced/Separated 3 12 24 11 11 39 113
Never married 7 20 32 9 8 23 125
Level of Education
High school or less 3 9 38 11 13 26 189
Technical school/Some college 3 14 26 13 13 30 173
College graduate 3 13 29 10 10 36 226
Postgraduate work 2 13 24 12 7 41 162
University of New Hampshire A - 46
Survey Center
Q5B: “Latinos or Hispanics…Do [the courts] always, often, sometimes, rarely or never treat Latinos or Hispanics worse than they treat others?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Alway s Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 3% 13% 29% 11% 11% 33% 757
Household Income
Less than $30,000 5 17 30 10 14 24 88
$30,000 to $59,999 3 9 39 9 11 29 161
$60,000 to $74,999 0 16 27 17 8 32 93
$75,000 to $99,999 6 12 34 8 9 29 67
$100,000 or more 2 12 28 18 10 30 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 1 16 20 14 2 48 38
3 to 5 years 5 8 25 12 9 42 49
6 to 10 years 7 11 35 8 9 30 70
11 to 20 years 2 12 28 14 17 28 157
20 or more years 3 13 30 11 10 33 433
Adults in Household
One 4 13 27 8 7 41 110
Two 2 12 31 12 11 33 432
Three or more 5 12 28 13 13 29 195
Region of State
Northern NH 2 10 33 9 14 32 100
Western NH 4 17 16 6 11 47 70
Central/Lakes 2 9 31 17 12 28 118
Hillsborough County 4 12 32 12 11 29 231
Seacoast 2 14 29 10 9 35 238
Executive District
1st District 2 8 32 11 13 35 148
2nd District 3 9 27 13 9 39 163
3rd District 3 16 27 12 7 34 155
4th District 5 16 36 10 12 20 141
5th District 2 14 25 10 14 35 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 47
Survey Center
Q5C: “A non-English speaker…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 13 % 28 % 12 % 10 % 33 % 761
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 4 17 29 14 13 23 159
Not been to Court 4 12 28 11 9 35 598
Sex
Male 6 15 28 12 10 29 369
Female 2 12 28 12 10 36 393
Race of Respondent
White 4 13 28 12 10 33 714
Other 7 6 33 5 16 33 30
Age
18 to 29 7 13 28 17 6 30 84
30 to 39 2 14 29 8 11 36 134
40 to 49 3 15 30 11 9 31 196
50 to 59 6 10 23 17 11 33 173
60 to 69 4 16 31 5 15 28 97
70 or older 0 5 31 14 8 41 52
Marital Status
Married 3 13 28 11 11 34 509
Divorced/Separated 3 8 30 16 8 36 113
Never married 8 18 29 11 7 26 127
Level of Education
High school or less 4 10 32 12 14 28 190
Technical school/Some college 5 11 28 15 12 28 176
College graduate 4 14 26 11 9 35 225
Postgraduate work 2 16 27 9 5 41 164
University of New Hampshire A - 48
Survey Center
Q5C: “A non-English speaker…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always U sually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 4% 13% 28% 12% 10% 33% 761
Household Income
Less than $30,000 6 16 28 14 13 24 88
$30,000 to $59,999 4 12 32 8 13 31 162
$60,000 to $74,999 6 11 30 18 8 27 95
$75,000 to $99,999 5 11 33 6 11 35 69
$100,000 or more 2 15 30 15 8 30 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 1 19 16 7 4 53 38
3 to 5 years 5 7 25 6 9 48 49
6 to 10 years 10 14 37 6 3 29 70
11 to 20 years 2 8 32 20 10 28 160
20 or more years 4 15 26 11 12 32 435
Adults in Household
One 3 9 31 12 6 39 110
Two 3 14 30 10 11 33 436
Three or more 7 13 23 16 11 30 197
Region of State
Northern NH 4 15 25 13 10 33 101
Western NH 7 14 19 6 13 40 72
Central/Lakes 3 10 36 15 9 27 119
Hillsborough County 5 13 27 10 12 34 230
Seacoast 3 14 30 13 7 33 239
Executive District
1st District 3 11 28 12 11 35 152
2nd District 4 14 32 12 6 32 164
3rd District 3 14 27 16 6 34 155
4th District 7 14 34 9 15 21 142
5th District 3 14 22 9 13 41 148
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 49
Survey Center
Q5D: “Someone with a low income…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 17 % 33 % 13 % 11 % 20 % 762
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 8 19 31 16 16 10 159
Not been to Court 5 16 34 13 10 23 599
Sex
Male 7 19 32 15 12 15 371
Female 4 15 34 12 10 25 391
Race of Respondent
White 5 17 33 14 11 21 712
Other 6 15 33 12 22 11 30
Age
18 to 29 2 17 32 14 12 23 84
30 to 39 5 14 33 13 8 26 134
40 to 49 3 16 38 15 10 18 195
50 to 59 8 17 28 16 16 15 173
60 to 69 9 24 34 7 9 16 97
70 or older 1 14 29 19 12 25 52
Marital Status
Married 5 16 33 14 11 21 508
Divorced/Separated 10 17 28 14 12 18 114
Never married 1 24 34 11 10 20 126
Level of Education
High school or less 6 14 40 14 11 14 189
Technical school/Some college 2 22 34 12 12 18 176
College graduate 6 15 31 13 12 23 226
Postgraduate work 6 18 24 16 10 25 163
University of New Hampshire A - 50
Survey Center
Q5D: “Someone with a low income…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usu ally Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 5% 17% 33% 13% 11% 20% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 10 18 42 14 6 10 89
$30,000 to $59,999 2 15 40 9 16 19 162
$60,000 to $74,999 6 26 30 14 10 14 93
$75,000 to $99,999 5 14 37 14 7 23 69
$100,000 or more 4 14 28 24 14 16 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 1 17 25 9 5 44 38
3 to 5 years 7 17 26 10 7 33 49
6 to 10 years 5 15 38 9 13 21 70
11 to 20 years 6 13 31 20 17 14 161
20 or more years 5 19 34 13 10 19 435
Adults in Household
One 9 14 34 9 8 26 111
Two 5 18 34 12 11 20 435
Three or more 3 18 28 20 14 18 197
Region of State
Northern NH 2 20 40 11 10 17 101
Western NH 3 27 29 7 12 22 72
Central/Lakes 8 17 36 12 10 18 120
Hillsborough County 7 13 32 16 12 20 231
Seacoast 5 16 31 15 12 22 239
Executive District
1st District 3 17 40 12 10 18 152
2nd District 7 22 29 13 8 22 164
3rd District 6 16 29 16 13 20 155
4th District 5 17 38 14 13 13 142
5th District 6 14 30 13 12 26 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 51
Survey Center
Q5E: “Someone who represents themselves in court without a lawyer…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 15 % 29 % 12 % 9 % 27 % 762
Been to Cour t in Past Year
Self or Family 8 19 31 14 13 14 159
Not been to Court 6 15 29 12 8 31 599
Sex
Male 8 19 29 12 10 21 370
Female 6 12 29 12 8 33 392
Race of Respondent
White 7 16 29 12 9 27 713
Other 8 8 30 14 4 35 30
Age
18 to 29 14 12 28 9 7 30 84
30 to 39 3 13 32 14 9 29 134
40 to 49 4 20 29 14 8 24 196
50 to 59 11 14 29 12 12 23 172
60 to 69 9 17 30 8 9 28 97
70 or older 1 17 31 9 5 36 52
Marital Status
Married 6 15 29 13 9 28 509
Divorced/Separated 6 15 27 13 10 29 113
Never married 13 18 30 9 6 23 126
Level of Education
High school or less 11 11 30 14 12 22 190
Technical school/Some college 9 17 24 15 10 25 176
College graduate 5 16 32 12 6 30 226
Postgraduate work 4 18 30 7 9 31 163
University of New Hampshire A - 52
Survey Center
Q5E: “Someone who represents themselves in court without a lawyer…”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Su re Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 15% 29% 12% 9% 27% 762
Household Income
Less than $30,000 13 14 28 11 11 22 88
$30,000 to $59,999 7 14 29 11 10 29 162
$60,000 to $74,999 7 14 32 15 4 27 95
$75,000 to $99,999 5 13 30 18 7 26 69
$100,000 or more 4 24 26 14 10 22 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 1 8 22 11 2 57 38
3 to 5 years 6 7 37 12 4 34 49
6 to 10 years 8 30 24 8 6 24 69
11 to 20 years 6 16 28 11 15 24 161
20 or more years 8 15 30 13 9 26 436
Adults in Household
One 9 15 30 7 7 33 110
Two 6 14 31 14 7 27 436
Three or more 7 19 25 10 13 26 197
Region of State
Northern NH 6 12 28 14 9 30 101
Western NH 11 22 22 8 5 32 72
Central/Lakes 7 18 32 12 10 22 120
Hillsborough County 8 13 28 11 11 29 232
Seacoast 4 16 32 13 9 26 237
Executive District
1st District 7 14 30 14 7 29 152
2nd District 7 20 27 12 8 27 165
3rd District 6 17 31 12 8 26 154
4th District 8 12 36 12 9 23 142
5th District 7 13 24 10 14 32 150
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 53
Survey Center
Q5F: “A father in a child custody or child support case…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Respondin
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 18 % 30 % 12 % 7 % 26 % 756
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 10 22 29 11 7 21 158
Not been to Court 6 18 31 12 7 27 594
Sex
Male 12 21 31 10 6 20 367
Female 2 16 30 13 8 32 389
Race of Respondent
White 7 19 30 12 7 26 707
Other 11 9 34 16 4 25 30
Age
18 to 29 11 16 24 10 5 34 84
30 to 39 7 18 28 11 9 26 134
40 to 49 4 23 29 14 5 24 193
50 to 59 12 17 31 11 5 24 172
60 to 69 6 15 37 9 10 23 96
70 or older 1 17 33 13 6 30 54
Marital Status
Married 5 19 32 12 6 25 503
Divorced/Separated 8 16 30 15 9 23 113
Never married 13 19 21 8 8 32 126
Level of Education
High school or less 10 14 30 12 9 24 189
Technical school/Some college 8 22 32 12 8 18 176
College graduate 6 18 29 12 6 28 225
Postgraduate work 4 20 29 12 4 32 159
University of New Hampshire A - 54
Survey Center
Q5F: “A father in a child custody or child support case…”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Always Usually Sometimes Seldom Never Don’t Know/ Number
Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 7% 18% 30% 12% 7% 26% 756
Household Income
Less than $30,000 3 20 30 14 9 25 88
$30,000 to $59,999 7 19 35 8 7 25 159
$60,000 to $74,999 12 21 23 15 6 23 93
$75,000 to $99,999 9 24 31 12 4 20 69
$100,000 or more 9 21 32 12 6 21 146
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 1 11 32 0 5 51 38
3 to 5 years 12 13 25 6 4 41 49
6 to 10 years 7 20 22 17 4 30 69
11 to 20 years 7 18 30 14 6 25 159
20 or more years 7 20 31 12 8 22 432
Adults in Household
One 7 14 27 11 7 34 109
Two 6 20 32 12 6 23 434
Three or more 9 20 25 12 7 27 194
Region of State
Northern NH 2 23 33 15 3 24 101
Western NH 10 17 21 11 10 31 70
Central/Lakes 8 18 34 10 5 26 116
Hillsborough County 9 16 31 9 8 26 231
Seacoast 6 19 28 14 7 25 238
Executive District
1st District 2 23 33 14 4 24 152
2nd District 8 18 25 14 5 29 160
3rd District 7 20 30 11 8 24 155
4th District 12 16 32 14 7 20 141
5th District 7 15 31 5 10 32 148
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 55
Survey Center
Q6A: “Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that courts should hire drug treatment counselors
staff members?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 29% 24% 15 % 26 % 5 % 764
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 28 30 12 29 1 160
Not been to Court 30 23 16 26 6 600
Sex
Male 24 19 18 35 4 370
Female 35 29 12 18 6 393
Race of Respondent
White 29 25 16 26 5 714
Other 58 9 3 22 8 30
Age
18 to 29 52 23 5 15 5 84
30 to 39 34 26 10 26 3 134
40 to 49 23 29 18 26 4 197
50 to 59 22 22 20 32 5 172
60 to 69 31 20 18 26 6 97
70 or older 37 14 12 22 14 53
Marital Status
Married 25 25 15 31 4 510
Divorced/Separated 38 22 19 13 7 113
Never married 41 23 10 19 8 127
Level of Education
High school or less 34 22 17 21 5 191
Technical school/Some college 30 28 15 18 9 176
College graduate 30 26 11 30 3 226
Postgraduate work 23 19 19 35 4 164
University of New Hampshire A - 56
Survey Center
Q6A: “Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that courts should hire drug treatment counselors
staff members?”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 29% 24% 15% 26% 5% 764
Household Income
Less than $30,000 52 21 6 15 7 87
$30,000 to $59,999 29 29 14 22 5 162
$60,000 to $74,999 36 19 17 25 4 95
$75,000 to $99,999 24 15 17 37 6 69
$100,000 or more 18 25 18 36 3 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 18 28 26 11 17 38
3 to 5 years 37 30 12 15 6 49
6 to 10 years 36 29 15 19 2 70
11 to 20 years 39 17 8 32 4 161
20 or more years 25 25 17 28 5 436
Adults in Household
One 39 22 13 15 10 110
Two 28 24 17 26 5 437
Three or more 29 25 12 32 3 197
Region of State
Northern NH 26 26 20 23 4 102
Western NH 30 24 16 29 2 72
Central/Lakes 30 21 15 30 4 120
Hillsborough County 30 24 11 29 6 232
Seacoast 30 26 16 23 6 238
Executive District
1st District 26 26 19 26 3 153
2nd District 29 22 14 29 7 164
3rd District 32 25 17 21 5 155
4th District 31 23 13 25 7 142
5th District 29 26 11 31 4 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 57
Survey Center
Q6B: “Should courts order a person to go back to court and talk to the judge about their progress in a treatment program?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 49% 24 % 10 % 12 % 5 % 761
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 56 20 12 12 0 160
Not been to Court 47 25 10 13 6 597
Sex
Male 44 25 12 16 3 368
Female 52 23 9 9 7 393
Race of Respondent
White 49 24 10 12 5 711
Other 60 16 4 11 9 30
Age
18 to 29 58 25 9 4 4 84
30 to 39 59 16 12 9 3 133
40 to 49 44 25 11 15 5 196
50 to 59 44 23 11 17 4 171
60 to 69 55 27 8 7 3 96
70 or older 42 24 10 11 13 54
Marital Status
Married 48 24 10 14 4 507
Divorced/Separated 49 27 10 9 5 114
Never married 53 19 11 7 10 126
Level of Education
High school or less 57 20 9 8 6 191
Technical school/Some college 51 27 10 5 6 174
College graduate 44 23 11 18 4 227
Postgraduate work 43 25 10 18 4 162
University of New Hampshire A - 58
Survey Center
Q6B: “Should courts order a person to go back to court and talk to the judge about their progress in a treatment program?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagre e Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 49% 24% 10% 12% 5% 761
Household Income
Less than $30,000 56 20 5 13 6 88
$30,000 to $59,999 58 21 11 7 3 160
$60,000 to $74,999 50 30 6 11 2 95
$75,000 to $99,999 36 26 13 18 6 69
$100,000 or more 41 28 12 16 3 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 51 19 13 3 14 37
3 to 5 years 45 26 13 8 8 49
6 to 10 years 46 27 14 10 4 70
11 to 20 years 49 25 6 16 4 161
20 or more years 49 22 11 13 4 434
Adults in Household
One 48 25 9 7 10 110
Two 49 26 9 13 3 436
Three or more 49 20 13 13 6 195
Region of State
Northern NH 47 22 11 12 8 102
Western NH 52 23 10 9 6 72
Central/Lakes 54 23 10 10 4 116
Hillsborough County 45 26 10 16 3 231
Seacoast 49 24 11 11 5 240
Executive District
1st District 49 22 11 12 6 151
2nd District 51 22 10 14 3 163
3rd District 52 24 9 10 5 156
4th District 45 27 11 13 5 142
5th District 46 26 10 13 5 150
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 59
Survey Center
Q6C: “Courts should take responsibility for making sure local agencies provide help to people with drug abuse and/or alcohol problems?”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 43% 24% 12 % 18 % 4 % 760
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 47 22 10 19 2 158
Not been to Court 42 24 12 18 4 599
Sex
Male 38 21 14 23 3 369
Female 47 27 9 12 4 391
Race of Respondent
White 43 25 12 17 4 711
Other 65 4 3 21 7 30
Age
18 to 29 62 16 4 11 7 84
30 to 39 46 26 11 14 3 134
40 to 49 43 23 15 17 3 197
50 to 59 31 28 12 26 2 172
60 to 69 44 26 10 18 2 94
70 or older 45 17 11 17 10 53
Marital Status
Married 39 25 14 20 2 508
Divorced/Separated 49 26 7 12 6 112
Never married 54 15 5 15 11 127
Level of Education
High school or less 56 18 5 15 5 190
Technical school/Some college 48 29 9 9 4 176
College graduate 35 27 11 24 4 227
Postgraduate work 32 21 23 22 1 160
University of New Hampshire A - 60
Survey Center
Q6C: “Courts should take responsibility for making sure local agencies provide help to people with drug abuse and/or alcohol problems?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 43% 24% 12% 18% 4% 760
Household Income
Less than $30,000 59 17 4 18 2 88
$30,000 to $59,999 46 28 8 16 2 161
$60,000 to $74,999 50 22 15 10 2 95
$75,000 to $99,999 33 24 12 31 0 69
$100,000 or more 34 24 15 23 4 145
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 36 24 12 15 14 38
3 to 5 years 41 30 7 18 4 49
6 to 10 years 44 23 18 14 1 70
11 to 20 years 45 19 13 20 3 159
20 or more years 43 25 11 18 4 435
Adults in Household
One 44 25 10 13 7 111
Two 40 26 14 18 2 434
Three or more 51 17 8 18 6 197
Region of State
Northern NH 44 20 10 20 6 101
Western NH 44 23 10 18 5 71
Central/Lakes 44 26 9 19 1 120
Hillsborough County 46 23 9 18 4 230
Seacoast 39 26 16 16 3 239
Executive District
1st District 41 24 10 22 4 151
2nd District 44 23 13 16 3 165
3rd District 40 27 16 13 3 155
4th District 47 25 8 17 4 142
5th District 43 21 10 21 4 148
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshire A - 61
Survey Center
Q6D: “Courts should consider what psychological and medical doctors know about the causes of emotional problems when making decisions _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 42% 36 % 9 % 8 % 5 % 760
Been to Court in Past Year
Self or Family 40 38 13 7 1 160
Not been to Court 42 36 7 8 6 597
Sex
Male 37 37 11 10 5 371
Female 46 36 6 6 5 389
Race of Respondent
White 42 38 9 7 5 710
Other 52 18 1 12 17 30
Age
18 to 29 46 34 3 7 11 84
30 to 39 50 37 4 6 3 134
40 to 49 36 39 11 9 4 196
50 to 59 41 36 12 10 1 170
60 to 69 48 34 8 5 4 96
70 or older 34 37 7 3 19 54
Marital Status
Married 39 40 10 9 3 507
Divorced/Separated 49 32 7 3 9 113
Never married 50 29 5 7 9 126
Level of Education
High school or less 42 32 11 5 10 191
Technical school/Some college 41 45 5 4 6 176
College graduate 44 33 11 9 3 224
Postgraduate work 40 37 7 13 3 162
University of New Hampshire A - 62
Survey Center
Q6D: “Courts should consider what psychological and medical doctors know about the causes of emotional problems whe n making decisions about _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Don’t Know/ Number
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Not Sure Responding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All NH Adults 42% 36% 9% 8% 5% 760
Household Income
Less than $30,000 55 27 3 8 7 89
$30,000 to $59,999 47 39 9 2 3 162
$60,000 to $74,999 43 37 6 10 3 95
$75,000 to $99,999 36 37 7 17 3 68
$100,000 or more 38 40 9 10 3 147
Years Lived in NH
2 years or less 45 35 3 9 9 38
3 to 5 years 47 34 8 7 3 49
6 to 10 years 47 32 11 8 2 70
11 to 20 years 42 32 9 10 7 161
20 or more years 40 39 9 7 5 432
Adults in Household
One 46 33 6 4 11 110
Two 41 38 9 8 3 435
Three or more 40 37 10 8 6 196
Region of State
Northern NH 40 37 9 8 6 102
Western NH 42 36 9 7 6 69
Central/Lakes 47 34 8 9 3 118
Hillsborough County 40 38 8 9 5 231
Seacoast 41 37 10 6 6 240
Executive District
1st District 40 39 7 9 5 153
2nd District 45 31 9 10 4 161
3rd District 46 34 9 7 4 156
4th District 39 38 10 7 5 142
5th District 38 41 9 5 8 149
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of New Hampshi