Report Accompanying House of Delegates Resolution Public Understanding of Justice System | Trends Affecting Public Knowledge and Confidence Efforts to Educate Public | Professional Responsibility of Lawyers Trends Affecting Public Knowledge and Confidence The ABA's February 1999 national survey on public perceptions underscores the need to improve public knowledge of the justice system as a means to building public confidence and trust. Survey findings indicated, in particular, an alarming lack of public confidence in the legal profession. Negative and misleading coverage and treatment of lawyers and legal issues via news and entertainment media contributes to low public confidence and trust in the legal profession and the justice system. It also undermines the public's respect for the law and commitment to resolving disputes lawfully and peacefully, rather than extralegally or through violence. At the same time, one of the significant media trends of recent years has been the proliferation of "law" in the mass media, notably on television, for instance, through coverage of high-profile trials or depictions of entertainment or "reality-based" shows. While this occasionally results in information that advances public understanding and enhances trust and confidence in the justice system, it also has led to the dissemination of much misinformation and reinforced existing misperceptions and misunderstandings. The increasing power of new information technologies, such as the Internet, presents even greater possibilities of the spread of misinformation. In response to this trend, people will need guidance in locating authoritative, accurate and balanced sources of information about the law, lawyers and the justice system. Responsible media and schools can provide critical support, but the legal profession must provide leadership for this effort. Such leadership is compromised without the support of every lawyer in the nation. Finally, building public trust and confidence in the justice system also requires a commitment to diversity as both a social value and a professional practice. ABA President William G. Paul has convened a President’s Advisory Council on Diversity in the Profession to help guide efforts in this area. As President Paul underscores, the “incongruity” between the diversity of American society and that of the legal profession “put[s] at risk the profession’s historic role as the connecting link between our society and the rule of law.” 6  In the long term, we can diminish this incongruity by fostering understanding of law and our justice system among young people from ethnic and racial minority groups and providing an educational infrastructure that will encourage them to pursue careers as legal professionals. A strategy of public education, from the earliest grades through college, can help us accomplish this goal. 6 Paul, William G., “President’s Message: Increasing Diversity,” Back to Top House of Delegates Resolution