In what may reflect a devastating blow to the morale of the judiciary, nine out of 10 judges believe the public’s esteem for judges has fallen, according to an informal survey by The National Judicial College (NJC).

Each month, the NJC emails its 12,000+ alumni an informal, non-scientific one-question survey. February’s question asked:  “Do you think that the public’s esteem for judges has risen, declined, or stayed the same over the last 10 years?”

More than 90% of the 479 judges who responded said they thought it had declined. Two percent thought it had risen; 8% felt it had stayed the same.