©2005, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Public Trust of Civil Justice Prepared for Common Good Prepared by Regina Corso Research Director Elizabeth Shores Research Associate June 20, 2005

2 Table of Contents Research Objectives Research Methodology Executive Summary Detailed Findings Survey Demographics Detailed Methodology

3 Research Objectives  The primary objectives for the survey with the general public include: –Measuring the level of trust in the justice system; and, –Assessing general attitudes toward the legal system.

4 General Public Research Methodology  Sample includes 2,604 adults who reside in the United States.  Interviewing was conducted between May 20 - May 23,  All interviewing was conducted using QuickQuery, our online omnibus service. All respondents were from the Harris Poll Online (HPOL) database consisting of several million members who have agreed to participate in survey research.  The total sample was weighted to figures obtained from the March 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) using age, sex, education, income and region.  The theoretical sampling error of the sample is +/- 2 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level.

5 Executive Summary

6 Executive Summary – General Public Survey  More than half of people do not trust the legal system to defend them against a baseless claim and only 16% trust it. Moreover, more than half of adults feel that the civil justice system needs some fundamental changes.  Americans agree that the legal system makes it too easy to make invalid claims. Further, three-quarters of adults feel that people have become so fearful of frivolous lawsuits that they are discouraged from performing normal activities.  Three in five Americans think that people are discouraged from becoming volunteers due to legal considerations.

7 Detailed Findings

8 Do you trust the legal system if someone makes a baseless claim against you? More than half of adults do not trust the legal system to defend them against a baseless claim and only 16% trust it. Base: Adult Americans (n=2,604 adults)

9 Please indicate who much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Americans agree that the legal system makes it too easy to make invalid claims. Only one third believe the legal system provides reliable, timely dispute resolution. Base: Adult Americans (n=2,604 adults)

10 Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing your overall view? Two-thirds of adults feel that there are fundamental changes needed to make the civil justice system work better or we need to completely re- build it. 97% believe at least some change is necessary. Base: Adult Americans (n=2,604 adults)

11 Please indicate who much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. More than six in ten adults strongly agree that there is an increasing tendency for people to threaten legal action when something goes wrong and that we need to have more judges who will turn back frivolous lawsuits. Base: Adult Americans (n=2,604 adults)

12 In your opinion is the trend for people to threaten legal action when something goes wrong good or bad? Seven in ten adults who agree that there is a tendency for people to threaten legal action when something goes wrong believe that this trend is a bad thing. Base: Adult Americans who agreed that there is an increasing tendency for people to threaten legal action when something goes wrong (n=2,438)

13 Do you think people are discouraged from becoming volunteers because of legal considerations? Three in five adults think that people are discouraged from becoming volunteers due to legal considerations. Base: Adult Americans (n=2,604 adults)

14 Survey Demographics

15 Demographics of Adult Americans from the General Public Gender Total Gender Total Male48% Female52% Marital Status Total Marital Status Total Single, never married24% Married55% Div/Sep/Widowed15% Children in Household Under 18 Total Children in Household Under 18 Total 070% 1+30% Age Total Age Total 18 – 3432% 35 – 4419% 45 – 5419% 55+30% Education Total Education Total High school graduate or less44% Some college, but no degree29% College (e.g., B.A., B.S.) or more27% Region Total Region Total Northeast22% Midwest22% South33% West23%

16 Detailed Methodology

17 Detailed Methodology The General Public Survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Common Good using QuickQuery, our online omnibus service. Interviewing was conducted between May 20 and May 23, 2005 among a nationally representative sample of 2,604 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. SAMPLE SELECTION Harris Interactive maintains the Harris Poll Online database (HPOL) comprised of several million respondents who have agreed to participate in survey research. The HPOL database was used as the sample source for this study. addresses for respondents in the database have been obtained from over 100 sources, including the HPOL registration site, Yahoo!, HPOL banner advertisements, and MSN/Hotmail.

18 Detailed Methodology (cont’d) ONLINE INTERVIEWING PROCEDURES Interviews were conducted using a self-administered, online questionnaire, via proprietary, web-assisted interviewing software. The HPOL interviewing system permitted online data entry of interviews by the respondents. Questionnaires were programmed into the system with the following checks: 1. Question and response series 2. Skip pattern 3. Question rotation 4. Range checks 5. Mathematical checks 6. Consistency checks 7. Special edit procedures To maintain the reliability and integrity in the sample, each invitation contained a password that is uniquely assigned to that address. A respondent was required to enter the password at the beginning of the survey to gain access into the survey. Password protection ensured that a respondent completed the survey only one time. To increase the number of respondents in the survey and to improve overall response rates, up to two additional reminder invitations are typically mailed at 2-4 day intervals to those respondents who have not yet participated in the survey. For this study, one reminder was sent to potential respondents. To increase the number of respondents in the survey and to improve overall response rates, respondents were provided with a summary of some of the survey responses. This too was done via the Internet. Respondents were sent an that provided them access to a web site that contained the survey findings. As with the survey itself, this was a password protected site that was accessible for a limited period (1-2 weeks). All data were then tabulated, checked for internal consistency and processed by computer. A series of computer- generated tables were produced for each of the key sample groups that showed the results of each survey question, both by the total number of respondents and by the key subgroups.

19 Detailed Methodology (cont’d) WEIGHTING Completed interviews were weighted to figures obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Harris used several demographic variables (e.g., sex, age, education, race and ethnicity and income) to generalize survey results to the population at large. In addition, Harris Interactive applied a proprietary technique to the data called "propensity weighting" that essentially balanced all the characteristics (e.g., demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral) of online respondents. It is no surprise that certain kinds of people have a greater or lesser likelihood to be online and therefore to reply to our surveys. To account for this, Harris gave each individual a “propensity weight” which corresponded to their likelihood to be online. This ensured that the sample represented the general shareholder population at large and was not skewed toward more active online users or survey takers. In addition, people who had a lesser likelihood to be online acted as a proxy for those who are not online at all. Typical propensity weights that were used included measures of activity (our online respondents do more things), knowledge (our online samples are better informed), and attitudes (our online samples are more skeptical or cynical).

20 Detailed Methodology (cont’d) WEIGHTING (CONT’D) It is also worth mentioning that Harris conducts parallel telephone and online research on a regular basis through The Harris Poll, our monthly omnibus survey. By conducting this research, Harris is able to track results to make comparisons between data collected online and by phone, closely examine the biases and most importantly, develop strategies for correcting these biases. In fact, Harris has an internal department that is entirely focused on conducting this “research on research.” EDITING AND CLEANING THE DATA The data-processing staff performed machine edits and additional cleaning for the entire data set. Our edit programs acted as a verification of the skip instructions and other data checks that were written into the online program. The edit programs listed any errors by case number, question number and type. These were then resolved by senior personnel, who inspected the original file and made appropriate corrections. Complete records were kept of all such procedures.