83% of Americans say mental-health records have a place in legal hearings
Core finding
More than four-in-five Americans (83%) say a person's mental-health history can be useful evidence in legal hearings, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.
The remaining 17% say such records have no place in that setting.
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?
n = 504 · May 11, 2026 · MoE ±4.6%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | May 11, 2026 |
| Base (unweighted) | 504 |
| Margin of error | ±4.6% |
| Module | beliefs |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26
Is the use of past mental health history records useful in legal hearings?
Cite this question
Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=504 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.6%.