Public Support for Drug Courts as a Second Chance: A Survey Experiment

• In Event: Pursuing Punishment for Drug Crimes: Examining Policy and Public Opinion

Abstract

The current study seeks to examine public opinion on problem-solving courts in vignettes instead of using general descriptions. We test the effects of offense type and criminal history on people’s support for drug courts. We also explore public support for a rehabilitative approach when the first rehabilitative attempt failed/was found ineffective. Using a sample of 833 respondents from Lucid Theorem, preliminary results indicate the following. First, most people (80.56%) supported drug courts when asked about their specific attitudes. Second, people were significantly more likely to support the drug court program for a defendant charged with a nonviolent offense compared to those charged with a violent offense. Finally, people were significantly more likely to support the drug court program for defendants with no criminal record compared to those with a criminal record. Policy implications are discussed.

Authors

• Lincoln Sloas, Florida Atlantic University

• Sishi Wu, California State University, San Bernardino

• Vitalii Artemenko, Florida Atlantic University