Report · Health

83% of Americans say mental-health records have a place in legal hearings

Reading

In a Verasight survey of 504 U.S. adults conducted May 11, 2026, 83% of Americans say mental-health records have a place in legal hearings.

The other answer accounted for 17%.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

83% of Americans say mental-health records have a place in legal hearings.

Is the use of past mental health history records useful in legal hearings?

  • Yes 83.4%
  • No 16.6%

2026 · base n 504 · +/- 4.6%

beliefs

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
504
Margin of error
+/- 4.6%
Module
beliefs

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=504 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.6%.

https://reports.verasight.io/reports/spsp26#q-beliefs_technology_health-3_a

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. Each wave's specific field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that wave's report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
Every wave is published as a standalone report at verasight.io/reports with full instrument and methodology.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

Wave-specific methodology, full weighting variable lists, and verbatim instrument text live in each report at verasight.io/reports.