Population and Law in the Federal Republic of Germany

Topics: Knowledge about the responsible courts and the task of the Federal Constitutional Court; type and frequency of court contacts; participation in court proceedings as spectator; attitude to and knowledge about functions of lawyers, prosecuting attorneys and judges; image of prosecuting attorneys and judges (semantic differential); general evaluation of court judgements; assessment of the standing of the courts in the mass-media; reading of magazines; contact in legal questions and distance from administration of justice; personal contacts with a lawyer; general attitude to jurists; knowledge of trial modalities and trial costs; expected influence of income of the defendant as well as the quality of the lawyer on trial results; attitude to individual judge versus judge committee; legal norm or moral evaluation as criterion for demand for sanction, presented in various situations such as e.g. tax evasion, illicit work, hit-and-run driving, use of intoxicants, attempted suicide, theft, pandering and deviant sexual behavior; judgement on the purpose of punishment and evaluation of re-socialization measures; suitable means to reduce crime; attitude to the penal system, the death penalty and corporal punishment as well as divorce; political interest; attitude to social interest associations, government and private institutions and parties; conduct with complaints regarding authorities; attitude to more government supervision and a prohibition of radical parties; judgement on income and assets distribution in the FRG; personal penalties; party preference; work satisfaction (scale); city size.

Demography: age; sex; marital status; number of children; religious denomination; religiousness; school education; vocational training; employment; income; social origins; state; regional origins.