Public Opinion on the Harshness of Local Courts

• Author: Joseph B. Sanborn,Brandon K. Applegate
• Published date: 01 December 2011
• Date: 01 December 2011
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734016811418822
• Subject Matter: Research Notes

Public Opinion on the

Harshness of Local Courts:

An Experimental Test of

Question Wording Effects

Brandon K. Applegate

1

and Joseph B. Sanborn

2

Abstract

Drawing on framing theory, the present study tests the impact of question wording on people’s

reported opinions about the harshness of their local courts. A randomized experimental design

tested two salient variations against the standard wording used in the National Opinion Research

Center’s General Social Survey (GSS). The results indicated statistically significant differences,

with fewer respondents expressing a desire for greater harshness with the alternative forms than

the standard question form. Four of the five correlates that the authors examined also showed

differential relationships with punitiveness among the question forms. These findings suggest that

scholars should carefully consider the meaning of people’s responses when interpreting the GSS

question as an indicator of public punitiveness.

Keywords

court, courts/law, quantitative methods, other

Assessing Public Punitiveness

It is widely reported and well known among criminologists that decades of criminal justice policies

in the United States sought to ‘‘get tough’’ with offenders (see, Clear, 1994; Garland, 2001; Tonry,

2004). The will of the people, implicitly or explicitly, frequently enters these discussions. For exam-

ple, DiIulio (1997, p. 2) contended that ‘‘with respect to crime control, all that Americans have ever

demanded from government, and all that they have been demanding since the mid-1960s, are com-

monsense policies that result in the detection, arrest, conviction, and punishment of violent and

repeat criminals.’’ In light of such claims, the extent to which the public is punitive in its stance

toward offenders, and thus is aligned with harsh policy directions, becomes a salient issue. The pub-

lic’s view on how severely criminals ought to be punished has been assessed in myriad ways. Recent

studies illustrate this variety—scholars have examined opinions on the appropriate goals of

1

Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

2

Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Brandon K. Applegate, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA

Email: applegab@mailbox.sc.edu

Criminal Justice Review

36(4) 487-497

ª2011 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/0734016811418822

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