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Psychology and Law Research Lab

PALS - the Psychology and Law Squad.

About the PALS Lab

The PALS lab is a collaborative group of faculty and students researching different areas within psychology and law. We work to increase the understanding of the many processes and decisions made within our legal system by applying social and cognitive psychology theories and experimental design. Our research has explored many areas largely within juror/jury decision-making, including eyewitness testimony, policing, experts, emotions, and more within the criminal and civil legal systems. To learn more about what we are currently working on, you can check out our Publications, Grants, and Presentations page and Meet the Team page.

Prospective Graduate Students

Interested in becoming a PAL? A few things we look for in our graduate students are (1) interest in psycho-legal research that we have expertise in; (2) motivation, drive, and a strong work ethic; and (3) people who will add to the collaborative, supportive, and fun environment we have in the PALS lab. Doctors Flick, Kehn, and Schweitzer have mentored students across all three of our department’s on-campus graduate programs: Experimental PhD, Forensic MS, and Clinical PhD. Check out our Meet the Team page to see who is currently recruiting students for the upcoming admissions cycle.

Meet the Team

Faculty

Photo of Cassandra Flick
Cassandra Flick
PhD
Assistant Professor
Specialties: Psychology & Law, Experimental Psychology -- Currently accepting graduate students
  • cassandra.flick@UND.edu
  • 701.777.4422
  • Columbia Hall, Room 2000
    Grand Forks ND 58202-8380
Photo of Andre Kehn
Andre Kehn
PhD
Professor & Chair
Specialties: Psychology and Law --- Currently accepting graduate students in General/Experimental and Forensic Programs
  • andre.kehn@UND.edu
  • 701.777.5054
  • Columbia Road Stop 2909
    Grand Forks ND 58202-8380
Photo of Kimberly Schweitzer
Kimberly Schweitzer
PhD
Assistant Professor
Specialties: Psychology & Law -- Currently accepting graduate students
  • kimberly.schweitzer@UND.edu
  • 701.777.0824
  • Columbia Hall Room 2000
    Grand Forks ND 58202-8380

Graduate Students

Experimental Ph.D. Students

  • Madison Adrian
  • Sophie Johnson
  • James Owens

Clinical Ph.D. Students

  • Mary Cops
  • Meliyah Anderson-Tryon

Forensic M.S. Students

  • Alivia Adams
  • Haley Duncan
  • Emma Killian

Former Graduate Students

  • Lauren Stornelli, PhD, currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of New Haven
  • Jasper Schmidtwood, M.S. in Forensic Psychology
  • Kaden Bollinger, M.S., currently a clinical PhD student at UND
  • Mariah Sorby, Ph.D., currently a post-doctoral research fellow at UND
  • Emily Haynes, M.S. in Forensic Psychology
  • Emily Carstens Namie, Ph.D., currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lewis-Clark State College
  • Megan Blackburn, M.S. in Forensic Psychology
  • Stephanie Weigel, Ph.D., currently the Director of Assessment & Institutional Research at Northcentral University
  • Brittney Long, M.S. in Forensic Psychology, currently the Competency Program Director at North Texas State Hospital
  • Bradlee W. Gamblin, Ph.D., currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Gannon University
  • Joshua Reynolds, Ph.D. (former M.S. in Forensic Psychology Student), currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton

Publications, Grants, and Presentations

Burd, K. A., Schweitzer, K., Flick, C., Smith, O. K. H., & Sturges, H. (2025). Attitudes towards police legitimacy and mock grand juror indictment decisions in cases of lethal force. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.

Schweitzer, K., Nuñez, N., Choi, S., & Michalski, N. (2025). Adding nuance to the role of juror anger and sadness at trial: Moderating effects of juror gender and sympathy on verdicts in a battered woman case. Psychology, Crime and Law.

Cops, M., Kehn, A., & Russell, T. (2025). They may not believe you remembered that nose: Juror perceptions of eyewitness’ featural justification. Current Psychology.

Wodahl, E. J., Schweitzer, K., & Heck, C. (2024). Carrot or stick? The efficacy of incentives and sanctions for improving probation supervision outcomes. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51, 1820-1837. 

Kehn, A., Sorby, M., Nobles, M., Gamblin, B.W., & Cramer, R.J. (2024). A typology of hate-motivated behavior: A latent class analysis. International Review of Victimology, 30, 503-520. 

Flick, C., Laurent, S. M., & Nuñez, N. (2024). If negligence is intentionality’s cousin, recklessness is its sibling: Differentiating negligence and recklessness from accidents and intentional harm. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 110, 104529.

Smith, O. K. H., Flick, C. & Michalski, N. (2024). To eliminate police or redirect police funds? The impact of framing on public support for Defunding the Police. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1439463. 

Sorby, M., & Kehn, A. (2023). The role of perceived defendant criminality on attributions and case outcomes. Current Psychology, 42, 30436-30448. 

Price, H.L., & Kehn, A. (2023). Potential reporters of suspected child maltreatment are sensitive to the amount of evidence and the potential consequences of reporting. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38, 391-417. 

Nuñez, N., Flick, C., Sturges, H., Smith, O. K. H., & Schweitzer, K. (2022). COVID-19 in the courtroom: The role of mask mandates and source of exposure on negligence and recklessness decisions. Psychological Injury and Law, 15(4), 341-356.

Flick, C., Smith, O., & Schweitzer, K. (2022). Influence of expert degree and scientific validity of testimony on mock jurors’ perceptions of credibility. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36, 494-507. 

Sturges, H., Flick, C., Provenza, K., & Nuñez, N. (2022). Civil juror compensation and judgments of police use of force at the intersection of race and mental illness. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 40(4), 514-531. 

Schweitzer, K., & Nuñez, N. (2021). The effect of evidence order on jurors' verdicts: Primacy and recency effects with strongly and weakly probative evidence. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35, 1510-1522.

Flick, C., & Schweitzer, K. (2021). Influence of the fundamental attribution error on perceptions of blame and negligence. Experimental Psychology, 68, 175-188. 

Johnson, S., & Schweitzer, K. (2025). Beyond all possible doubt? The shifting of a juror’s conviction threshold in criminal cases based on charge, sentence, and evidence. Association for Psychological Science Student Grant Competition ($500).

Flick, C., & Schweitzer, K. (2024-2025). Public perceptions of police-civilian interactions: Impact of possible indicators of threat. American Psychology – Law Society Early Career Professional Grant-in-Aid ($6051.83).

Wodahl, E., & Schweitzer, K. (2022-2026). Enhancing our understanding on the role of incentives in improving supervision outcomes. Arnold Ventures ($422,195).

Schweitzer, K., & Lewerenz, D. (2023-2024). “Indian Status” on trial: Examining the impact of a defendant’s level of Indian stereotypicality on mock jurors’ Indian status and guilt determinations. University of North Dakota Early Career Scholars Program ($29,897).

Burd, K., & Schweitzer, K. (2020-2021). Police on trial: Grand jury indictment decisions and attitudes towards police legitimacy. University of Wyoming Arts and Sciences Faculty Research and Creative Activity Proposal ($4,000).

Wodahl, E., & Schweitzer, K. (2019-2022). Reducing revocations Challenge. Arnold Ventures and the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance ($165,264).

Schweitzer, K., Flick, C., & Johnson, S. K. (under contract). Jurors’ integration of trial evidence. In M. K. Miller, D. DeMatteo, & D. Krauss (Eds.), Advances in Psychology and Law (Vol. 8). Springer.

Flick, C., Schweitzer, K., & Johnson, S. K. (2025). Legal decision-making regarding alleged police excessive use of force incidents. In M. K. Miller, B. Bornstein, & D. DeMatteo (Eds.), Advances in Psychology and Law (Vol. 7). Springer.

Schweitzer, K., Flick, C., & Smith, O. (2025, March). Comparative and contributory negligence laws: Do jurors understand the instructions and alter liability assignments to compensate for “unfair” laws? Paper presented at the annual American Psychology - Law Society conference. San Juan, PR.

Flick, C., & Schweitzer, K. (2025, March). Perceptions of police officer reasonableness in a use of force scenario. Paper presented at the annual American Psychology - Law Society conference. San Juan, PR.

Wodahl, E., Schweitzer, K., Bullock, C., & Spain, J. (2024, November). Preliminary findings from a study examining the role of incentives in improving probation outcomes. Paper presented at the annual American Society of Criminology conference. San Francisco, CA.

Johnson, S. K., & Schweitzer, K. (2024, October). Beyond all possible doubt? The shifting of a juror’s conviction threshold in criminal cases based on charge, sentence, and evidence. Paper presented at the annual UND Northern Lights conference. Grand Forks, ND.

Wodahl, E., & Schweitzer, K. (2024, October). Probation client perceptions of the quality of the supervision relationship and the potential influence of incentive use. Paper presented at the annual Western Association for Criminal Justice conference. Reno, NV.

Lewerenz, D., & Schweitzer, K. (2024, June). “Indian Status” on trial: Examining the impact of a defendant’s level of stereotypicality on mock jurors’ Indian status and guilt determinations. Paper presented at the annual Law & Society Conference. Denver, CO.

Flick, C., Schweitzer, K., & Johnson, S. K. (2024, March). Police on trial: Mock jurors’ perceptions and verdicts through the lens of the “Reasonable Officer Standard”. Paper presented at the annual American Psychology - Law Society conference. Los Angeles, CA.

Department of Psychology
Columbia Hall, Room 2000
501 N Columbia Rd Stop 8380
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8380
P 701.777.3451
F 701.777.3454

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College of Arts & Sciences

Columbia Hall, Room 1930
501 N Columbia Rd Stop 8038
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8038

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