Director

Margaret Bull Kovera, Ph.D.    

Professor of Psychology

For over a decade, Margaret has had continuous funding from the National Science Foundation for her research on jury decision-making and eyewitness identification.  She received a B.A. in psychology from Northwestern University (with departmental honors) and her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Minnesota.  Before coming to John Jay, she held positions at Reed College and Florida International University, where she was Director of the Legal Psychology Ph.D. program.  She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS), the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology.  She has received a number of awards, including the 1994 Dissertation Award, the 2000 Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Achievement in Psychology and Law and the 2004 Outstanding Teacher and Mentor Award, all from the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS/Division 41 of the American Psychological Association).  She is the Past-President of APLS and the current Secretary/Treasurer of SPSSI.  She also serves as the Associate Editor of the journal, Law and Human Behavior. 

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Doctoral Students

Sarah Appleby

M.A. Boston University

Research Interests: Confessions, generic prejudice

Jacqueline Austin

B.A. University of Kansas

Research Interests: Juror decision-making, expert testimony, eyewitness identification

Caroline Crocker

B.A., Williams College

Research Interests: Jury selection and decision making

Lauren Gundrum

B.A. Duke University

Research Interests: Memory, eyewitness identification

Julia Busso Kennard

B.A., California Polytechnic, M.S. San Francisco State University

Research Interests: Race, discrimination, and the legal system; jury behavior; false confessions

Alexis Murray-Forbes

B.S., Georgia State University

Research Interests: Trial consulting, race and jury decision making

Jennifer Torkildson Perillo

B.A., Mills College

Research Interests: Confessions, expert testimony

Lindsey Rhead

B.A. Beloit College, M. A. John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Research Interests: Juror decision-making, eyewitness testimony

Dario Rodriguez

B.A., M.A. University of Dayton

Research Interests: Eyewitness identification, jury decision making

Katy Sothmann

B.A., University of Victoria, M. A. John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Research Interests: Competency, jury decision making

David Zimmerman

B.A., Emory University, M.A. University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Research Interests: Eyewitness identification, jury decision-making

Master's Students

Marlee Berman

B.A., Temple University

Research Interests: Expert/scientific evidence, Jury decision-making

Former LAW Laboratory Members

Marisa Collett Burke, Ph.D.

Research Associate, University of Miami

Tracey L. Carpenter, Ph.D.

Trial Consultant, Strategic Advisor

Stacie A. Cass, M.S., J.D.

Judicial Law Clerk, Court of Appeals of Virginia

Erin Danielsen, Ph.D.

Trial Consultant, Trial Partners, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Rosa DeAngelis, M.A.

Jason J. Dickinson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Montclair State University

Sarah M. Greathouse, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Iowa State University

Kellye S. Hebert, Ph.D.

Trial Consultant, Dispute Dynamics, Los Angeles, CA

Lora M. Levett, Ph.D. (APLS Dissertation Award, Third Place)

Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society, University of Florida

Bradley D. McAuliff, J.D., Ph.D. (APLS Dissertation Award, First Place)

Associate Professor of Psychology, California State University at Northridge

Melissa B. Russano, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Roger Williams University

Nina S. Steighner, M.S., J.D.

Attorney

Joseph A. Vitriol, B.A., M.A.

Doctoral Student, University of Minnesota