Americans Most Interested in Pending Saddam Hussein Trial

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Several criminal trials involving high-profile defendants are now underway (or will officially begin in the future), and have attracted substantial media attention. The allegations and charges involved in these trials range from crimes against humanity to obstruction of justice, sexual assault, child molestation, and murder. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll asked Americans how interested they are in five of these high-profile cases, and whether they think the allegations against each individual are true.

Results from the poll, conducted Jan. 29-Feb. 1, show that Americans are most interested in the pending trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and are more likely to say the allegations against Hussein are true than they are to say the same about the allegations against the four other individuals. Americans are interested, but to a lesser extent, in the murder trial of Scott Peterson, and are much less likely to be interested in the trials of Martha Stewart, Michael Jackson, and Kobe Bryant. A majority of Americans also say the allegations against Peterson, Jackson, and Stewart are definitely or probably true, but the public is divided over whether the allegations against Bryant are true.

Hussein Trial Garners Most Interest

Ninety-two percent of Americans say they are interested in Hussein's possible trial, including 66% who are "very" interested. Of the remaining four cases, Americans are most interested in the trial of Peterson, who is accused of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child in California. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say they are at least somewhat interested in Peterson's trial, with 24% very interested and 33% somewhat interested. Less than half of Americans are interested in the trials of Stewart (47%), Jackson (44%), and Bryant (43%).

Public Interest in High-Profile Trials (sorted by percentage "very interested") January 29-February 1, 2004
	Very interested	Somewhat interested	Very/ Somewhat interested	Not too/ Not at all interested
	%	%	%	%
Saddam Hussein	66	26	92	8
Scott Peterson	24	33	57	40
Martha Stewart	19	28	47	53
Michael Jackson	19	25	44	55
Kobe Bryant	18	25	43	56

Are the Charges True?

Public interest in each of these trials may vary, but large majorities of Americans already assume that the allegations against four of these five individuals are probably true:

• Saddam Hussein. Ninety-four percent of Americans say the allegations against Hussein are true, including 73% who say the allegations are definitely true. Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say the allegations are definitely true, by an 84% to 68% margin.

• Scott Peterson. Roughly three in four respondents say the murder allegations against Peterson are true, with 37% saying they are definitely true. Only 5% say the allegations are probably or definitely not true, while 19% have no opinion. Women (81%) are slightly more likely than men (71%) to say the allegations against Peterson are true.

• Michael Jackson. Two-thirds of adults interviewed believe the allegations against Jackson (21% say definitely true and 46% say probably true). Jackson was formally charged in mid-December 2003 with several counts of committing a lewd act upon a child and administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony. Last December, fewer Americans believed the allegations were true. In early December, 62% said they were true, and a few days before formal charges were filed, 54% felt this way.

• Martha Stewart. Sixty-seven percent of Americans say the allegations that the domestic diva obstructed a federal investigation into possible insider stock trading are true (17% definitely and 50% probably true), while roughly one in four say they are not true. Almost a week after Stewart's indictment in June, 75% said the charges against Stewart were true.

Americans are essentially split in their beliefs about the charges against Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Bryant, with 42% saying the allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman are true and 41% saying they are not. Seventeen percent of respondents do not have an opinion. Last July, a similar question found that half of all Americans did not believe the charges to be true, but by August, public sentiment became more divided.

Allegations in High-Profile Trials True or Not True? (sorted by percentage "definitely true") January 29-February 1, 2004
	Definitely true	Probably true	Definitely/ Probably true	Definitely/ Probably not true
	%	%	%	%
Saddam Hussein	73	21	94	3
Scott Peterson	37	39	76	5
Michael Jackson	21	46	67	22
Martha Stewart	17	50	67	24
Kobe Bryant	7	35	42	41

Historically, Gallup has used this same question format to ask Americans about their perceptions of the validity of allegations against a number of high-profile defendants. Hussein's presumed guilt is at the top of the list, with substantially more Americans perceiving that the allegations against him are definitely true than is the case for anyone else tested. Next in line is former President Bill Clinton in 1998, when a slight majority of Americans said that the allegations that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky and lied under oath while he was president were definitely true. A majority of Americans also perceived that the charges that O.J. Simpson murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were probably or definitely true.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,001 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2004. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.