In court we trust? Political affinity and citizen's attitudes toward court's decisions

Bibliographic Data

ID6263729
AuthorsC Pereira (0000-0002-8978-1493, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EBAPE) Rio de Janeiro Brazil, corresponding author), André Klevenhusen (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EBAPE) Rio de Janeiro Brazil), Lucia S G Barros (0000-0003-0960-0398, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EAESP) São Paulo Brazil)
Year2025
Volume38
Issue2
Publication date2025-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGovernance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0952-1895 • E-ISSN: 1468-0491
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/gove.12898
OpenAlexW4401670960
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited63

This article investigates the role of citizen political affinities in shaping attitudes towards judicial decisions in corruption cases involving politicians. Although emerging research suggests that decisions regarding a high‐ranking politician can reduce general citizen trust in courts, there is no systematic evidence examining how political affinities differentially affect confidence in court decisions depending on the accused politician. We conducted a survey experiment during a 2022 presidential election rally in Brazil at a time of heightened affective polarization and corruption. We presented respondents with vignettes detailing a fictional corruption scheme and trial outcomes (acquittal or conviction) involving key political figures, including Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro. The results indicate that when a court decision is consistent with citizens' electoral preferences, they are more inclined to trust the court decision and vice versa

Acquittal · Conviction · Language change · Political efficacy · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Legal and Constitutional Studies

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