Most people are familiar with a justice system made up of the police and the courts. Police are visible. Judges are public. Far fewer people could tell you who their local prosecutor is or what they actually do. But according to new research by 快猫短视频 faculty member Jamie Carson and doctoral researcher Joshua Baldwin, that gap in understanding, and perhaps trust, matters more than most of us realize.
鈥淧rosecutors sit in a really unique position,鈥� Carson explains. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e incredibly powerful, but much less visible. They make critical decisions behind the scenes.鈥�
Those decisions鈥攚hether to bring charges, negotiate plea deals, or recommend sentences鈥攕hape outcomes in the vast majority of criminal cases. And yet, public attention rarely focuses on them. That disconnect is exactly what motivated a study on public trust in prosecutors.
A Hidden Power in the Justice System
For Carson, the project grew out of a larger body of research on prosecutorial elections and how they鈥檝e changed.
鈥淲hat we realized,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s that we have a lot of research about what prosecutors do. But we don鈥檛 know nearly as much about how people feel about them.鈥�
That question鈥攈ow trust is built or lost鈥攂ecame the foundation of this paper. Their findings point to a striking reality: prosecutors operate with high discretion, low visibility, and relatively weak electoral accountability. That combination makes public trust especially important.
鈥淚f citizens don鈥檛 trust their prosecutors,鈥� Carson says, 鈥渢hen the legitimacy of a large part of the criminal justice system is really placed under strain.鈥�
What Actually Shapes Trust?
The research identifies several key factors influencing whether people trust prosecutors.
Some are personal鈥攍ike race, gender, and political beliefs. Others are broader, such as how connected people feel to their communities or whether they believe they have a voice in government.
But one of the most important findings is that people don鈥檛 evaluate prosecutors in isolation.
鈥淥ftentimes,鈥� Baldwin explains, 鈥減eople aren鈥檛 making strong distinctions between prosecutors, courts, and police when they think about trust.鈥�
Instead, trust tends to move together across institutions. If someone has confidence in government or the justice system more broadly, they鈥檙e more likely to trust prosecutors. If that confidence breaks down, it affects prosecutors as well.
That has major implications.
鈥淚t means prosecutors鈥� reputations aren鈥檛 entirely their own,鈥� Baldwin says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e shaped by the larger system people experience.鈥�
A Surprising Finding About Elections
One of the study鈥檚 most unexpected conclusions challenges a long-held assumption about accountability. Even though most local prosecutors are elected, the researchers found that how prosecutors are selected鈥攚hether through partisan elections, nonpartisan elections, or appointment鈥攄oes not significantly change public trust.
鈥淎t first glance, that鈥檚 surprising,鈥� Carson says. 鈥淲e tend to think elections are what hold officials accountable.鈥�
But in practice, these races are often low-profile and low-information. Many voters don鈥檛 know how their local prosecutor got into office, or even who they are. At the same time, deeper forces鈥攍ike personal experience with the justice system鈥攑lay a bigger role.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about lived experience and group position,鈥� Carson explains. 鈥淭hose things shape how people view prosecutors more than institutional structures do.鈥�
Why It Matters Now
The findings come at a moment when trust in public institutions is under intense scrutiny nationwide. And yet, prosecutors are often left out of that conversation.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 interesting,鈥� Carson says, 鈥渂ecause prosecutors make decisions that are probably more likely to affect us personally than what happens in Congress or even the presidency.鈥�
From deciding what charges to bring to determining whether a case goes to trial at all, prosecutors play a pivotal role in how justice is carried out.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e kind of the hinge point,鈥� Baldwin adds. 鈥淭hey influence both what police do and what judges decide.鈥�
So What Builds Trust?
If changing how prosecutors are elected doesn鈥檛 move the needle, what does? The answer is less about structure and more about connection and understanding.
鈥淜nowledge is huge,鈥� Baldwin says. 鈥淭he more people understand what prosecutors do and how they make decisions, the more likely they are to form informed opinions about them.鈥�
Carson agrees, pointing to a combination of factors including transparency, public awareness, and broader confidence in government. Trust, in other words, isn鈥檛 built in one place. It鈥檚 shaped across the entire system and through people鈥檚 everyday experiences within it.
A Starting Point for Bigger Questions
Carson and Baldwin see this research as just the beginning.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of work on trust in Congress, the presidency, the courts,鈥� Carson says. 鈥淧rosecutors have largely been left out of that conversation.鈥�
Their goal is to change that by bringing attention to an often-overlooked group of public officials whose decisions carry enormous weight.
鈥淎t a basic level,鈥� Baldwin adds, 鈥渦nderstanding how people feel about these actors is a step toward building better institutions.鈥�
