Consultant
Amy applies her expertise in law and human behavior to demystify juror thought processes and develop case themes that resonate with fact-finders.
Clifton Strengths
Input
Individualization
Achiever
Activator
Maximizer
I have always found the intersection of law and psychology fascinating, but I did not want to spend my career researching and writing articles that have little to no impact outside of academia. Instead, I loved the idea of taking my knowledge of existing research and applying it to real world cases and juries. Every day is a new challenge.
I attended the dual degree law and psychology JD/PhD program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating Order of the Coif from UNL Law and receiving my PhD in jury decision-making psychology.
We are not very good at interpreting our own emotions. We often can misattribute feelings created by one source to another. For example, men who had just crossed a rickety, frightening bridge were more likely to pursue a relationship with a woman they met shortly after crossing than were men who had walked across a safer bridge. These men misattributed their pounding hearts and sweaty palms caused by the scary bridge as attraction for the woman.
The collaborative environment. Everybody’s input is valued and everyone encourages one another to succeed.
When the consultants get together for a brainstorm session. It’s an opportunity for us to challenge one another and to combine and apply our different skills.
I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa and grew up with mountains and two oceans on my doorstep. As a teenager, I moved to Toronto, Canada, and lived there for ten years before moving to America for graduate school.
I’m a big hockey fan (it’s the Canadian in me!) and I enjoy hiking, the more precarious the better.
Topp, S. S. & Kleynhans, A. (December 2022). Trends in Civil Juries in the Wake of 2020. Presentation for Porter Wright’s Annual Ethics & Trends in Litigation Seminar. Columbus, Ohio.
Kleynhans, A., & Bornstein, B.H. (2018). Racism in the deliberation room: Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) and jury reporting behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology Law Society in Memphis, TN.
Kleynhans, A. & Bornstein, B. H. (2017, January). Reporting juror bias in the deliberation room: Should jurors report potential bias – and if so, when? American Psychological Association Monitor on Psychology.
Kleynhans, A., & Bornstein, B. H. (2016). Psychology and the Federal Rules of Evidence. In M. K. Miller & B.H. Bornstein (Eds.), Advances in Psychology and Law. New York, NY: Springer.
Kleynhans, A., & Bornstein, B. H. (2015, October). The competitive advantage of interdisciplinary training in law and social sciences. American Psychology Law Society Newsletter, 7-10.
Pearce, M. W., & Kleynhans, A. (2015). What’s confidential – and what’s not. Can a therapist who warns a potential victim be liable for breaching client confidentiality? American Psychological Association Monitor on Psychology.