A recent poll published by Common Good, a nonpartisan government reform coalition, found that Americans are not happy with their legal system. According to the poll, only 26% of American voters believe our legal system provides timely and reliable resolution of disputes. What’s more, only 6% of the electorate believes the system should be kept as is, while 92% of the 1,000 respondents believe our legal system needs change.
Here are some additional findings:
- 86% of the voters polled agree that there is an increasing tendency for Americans to threaten legal action and lawsuits when things go wrong
- 67% say that the time and trouble it takes to file a lawsuit discourages many people with legitimate cases from going to court
- 51% believe that people have become so fearful of frivolous lawsuits that they are discouraged from engaging in normal activities
- 53% said there is a need to fundamentally change the way the civil justice system handles lawsuits
- 74% believe a judge should have the ability to throw out legal claims that do not have any merit
Given that the legal system in California is in dire need of reform, voters here are probably even more skeptical of our legal system than the respondents in this poll.
The funding of our courts is under attack, we lack the appropriate number of judges and lawsuits are being filed quicker than you can say, “Create jobs, not lawsuits.” Time for change has come. Reforming our legal system should be a key issue in the fall election.