Three key predictors can help us create a more equitable civil justice system
We have just released a new report, Enhancing Trust and Reducing Threat: Evidence from Courts on Three Key Levers of Change, unveiling important findings that offer actionable insights into how courts and other institutions can foster greater trust while reducing inequities. This research, led by Prof. Victor D. Quintanilla, J.D., Dr. Ryan Hutchings, Dr. Nedim Yel, and Dr. Kurt Hugenberg, presents an exciting opportunity to rethink how institutions operate and engage with the public, particularly vulnerable populations.
This report marks a significant advancement in understanding how courts can better serve their users, with a specific focus on those who may feel institutionally excluded or marginalized, such as unrepresented litigants. By looking at the psychological experiences of court users, the research identifies three key predictors—mindset culture, procedural justice, and outcome satisfaction—that strongly influence institutional trust. These findings have far-reaching implications for creating more inclusive and equitable environments in the civil justice system.
Novel Methodological Approaches: Experience Sampling and Iterative Regression
What makes this research particularly innovative is the use of novel methods for gathering data and analyzing it. We introduced the Experience Sampling Platform, a digital tool designed to collect real-time feedback from court users as they navigate the court system. This was the first time this approach had been used in the U.S. civil justice system. Over the course of the project, the team was able to gather data from more than 2,000 participants across Indiana courts, providing deep insight into the lived experiences of individuals interacting with courts.
In addition, our research employed an Iterative Regression Approach, a data-driven method that used over 1,000 regression models to identify key psychological factors influencing institutional trust based on data from the Experience Sampling Platform. Remarkably, the analysis revealed that just three predictors—mindset culture, procedural justice, and outcome satisfaction—could explain over 45% of the variance in institutional trust and nearly 40% of the variance in social identity threat (the extent to which they expect to be treated respectfully, fairly, and equitably based on their diverse social identities). Our research also establishes a strong correlation between institutional trust and social identity threat.
Three Key Predictors
These three factors are incredibly powerful in predicting whether or not individuals trust in and believe they will feel respected and fairly treated in court–
Mindset Culture: One of the most exciting findings from this report is the identification of mindset culture as a crucial factor in shaping institutional trust. Courts that foster Cultures of Growth–signaling they believe litigants and all individuals in the system have the ability and potential to learn, grow, change, and succeed–are more likely to inspire trust and reduce feelings of identity threat for court users. This research is groundbreaking, because it is the first to investigate how mindset culture can impact court experiences.
Procedural Justice: Procedural justice, which refers to people’s perception about fairness in the process and treatment by decision makers, is a powerful predictor of institutional trust, especially among underrepresented litigants. Court users are more likely to trust the institution when they feel they are given a fair opportunity to be heard, decisions are explained clearly, and they are treated respectfully by court staff.
Outcome Satisfaction: The third predictor is outcome satisfaction—in other words, the extent to which people feel that the results of their case are fair and just. When individuals feel that the outcome is appropriate, through transparent and clear communications, they are more likely to trust the institution and feel positive about their experience.
Actionable Implications for Court Reform
Our report outlines several practical steps that courts can take to enhance trust and reduce social identity threat. These include:
Enhancing interpersonal interactions by training court staff: Courts can provide comprehensive training for judges and staff on how to promote procedural justice. This includes teaching staff to ensure litigants have opportunities to be heard, to explain decisions clearly, and to treat everyone with respect.
Fostering a growth mindset culture: Courts can foster an organizational culture that promotes growth mindset beliefs, or Cultures of Growth. This can be done by revising court forms, communication, and self-help resources to emphasize learning and improvement.
Ensuring fair and equitable outcomes by improving outcome transparency: Courts can help litigants better understand their case outcomes by providing clear, easy-to-understand materials and offering opportunities to ask questions about the decision. In addition, vulnerable groups including unrepresented defendants, individuals with disabilities, those facing economic hardship and prior criminal justice encounters, and litigants with greater levels of life adversity, face a greater risk of leaving court with lower institutional trust. Courts can develop targeted strategies to address the unique barriers experienced by litigants from these vulnerable groups.
A Path Forward for Fairer and More Equitable Courts
The findings from this report reveal that trust in institutions, particularly courts, is deeply interconnected with individuals' perceptions of fairness and respect. For people already at a disadvantage—such as those facing financial hardship, people of color, and individuals with disabilities—these trust deficits can compound the challenges they face in navigating the legal system. By focusing on mindset culture, procedural justice, and outcome satisfaction, courts can enhance institutional trust, reduce feelings of social identity threat, and ultimately create a more equitable and fair justice system. Even more broadly, this report shows that with targeted strategies informed by data-driven research, specific changes in institutional culture and practices can meaningfully reduce equity gaps in any sector.
EA is dedicated to creating a more equitable legal profession and legal system by transforming the pipeline from college into the legal profession and providing equity-enhancing access to justice. We have been applying our approach in the legal space, from improving student experiences and outcomes with tests like the LSAT and Bar Exam, to improving people’s lived experiences with access to court proceedings. Learn more about our work in creating more equitable legal environments here.
Acknowledgements: This research was conducted in partnership with the Indiana Coalition for Court Access, the Indiana Bar Foundation, the Indiana Supreme Court’s Office of Judicial Administration, and legal aid providers, including Indiana Legal Services, and District 10 Pro Bono Project. We received financial support from Pew Charitable Trusts, Schmidt Futures, the American Bar Foundation, and a small grant from the Indiana Bar Foundation to conduct this research.
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