Smart Justice Polling Regarding Accountability for State's Attorneys

Document Date: June 26, 2020

In 2020, Smart Justice released public policy polling showing broad support among Connecticut voters across the ideological spectrum for commonsense measures to begin holding Connecticut State's Attorneys accountable to the public.

The research, conducted by Benenson Strategy Group between January 30 and February 5, 2020, included 510 telephone and online interviews with registered Connecticut voters across the state who indicated they were likely to vote in the 2020 general election. Thirty-six percent of participants identified as moderate, 32 percent as conservative, and 30 percent as liberal. Respondents were asked about their views on creating data-driven performance evaluations for state's attorneys, diversionary programs and other alternatives to incarceration, creating standard rules for fairness and anti-discrimination for state's attorneys to follow in cases, and general accountability for state's attorneys.

Key findings include:

  • 86% of voters, including 91% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans, support making state's attorneys undergo data-driven performance evaluations every two years to ensure there is no discrimination in their charges based on gender, age, race, or ethnicity, and that the same standards are being used state-wide. Nearly half – 48% – strongly support such a measure

Results are below.

Related Content

News & Commentary
img_2300.jpg
  • Smart Justice|
  • +2 Issues

The death penalty showed why we need prosecutorial accountability.

History could keep repeating itself without rules to start holding state’s attorneys to commonsense best practices.
News & Commentary
ACLUCT Smart Justice leader Sean Sellars is in the foreground, wearing a mask and baseball hat, looking toward the CT capitol building. In the background is the Connecticut capitol building and a blue sky.
  • Smart Justice|
  • +2 Issues

State’s attorneys’ term lengths are extreme outliers in Connecticut and across the country

In our state, the top prosecutors in each judicial district go for eight years without any external oversight. A bill in the legislature could change that.