Kimberly Dellapaolera PhD

Kimberly Dellapaolera PhD

Kimberly Dellapaolera
PhD

Consultant

Kimberly applies her passion for research and expertise in social psychology and law to help trial attorneys and their clients discover what drives juror decision-making in each case.

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Kimberly Dellapaolera

Tell us about your experience.

My jury research and consulting experience includes mock jury exercises, jury selection, social media research, shadow juries and post-trial interviews across many litigation categories. Prior to joining JurySync, I worked as an independent Litigation Consultant assisting legal and behavioral consulting firms with jury research and selection on complex civil and criminal cases. During graduate school, I was a Trial Consultant with the Scientific Resources for the Law (SRL), Law/Psychology Program Coordinator, and Lab Manager of the Jury, Justice, and Eyewitness Research Lab.

Tell us about your education background.

I earned a dual PhD/MLS degree in Law and Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My principal areas of graduate research were eyewitness memory and juror/jury decision-making. I also earned a BA in Psychology from the University of North Dakota.

What are you known for among people closest to you?

I’m known for my strong inner drive to work hard and get things done in a relationship-oriented context. People tell me I have an exceptional memory, as I am often able to recall specific dates and numbers without much effort.

How did you get in this line of work? What keeps you in it?

I have always been interested in psychology and law. Going into undergrad I knew I would end up pursuing one or the other, but eventually learned I could have a career in both. During graduate school I discovered a deep-rooted passion for research but wanted to apply it to a real-world setting. Litigation consulting turned out to be the perfect solution. I love to learn and continuously improve, and with each new case I discover more about a new product, process, or area of law.

What do you like best about JurySync?

JurySync’s collaborative environment. Each consultant brings their own perspective to the case based on their professional and personal experiences. The benefit of our collaboration is if one of us is stumped the rest of the team works together to produce a solution. Being a part of a team that embraces collaboration is exciting.

How do you contribute to the success of JurySync clients?

I combine my unique strengths in executing and relationship building with my expertise in jury decision making to provide practical advice for clients to bring out their best case.

Where and how did you grow up?

I grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota. Every summer we took a family vacation traveling around the U.S. and Canada by truck or motorcycle, camping the entire way. We rarely stayed at a campsite more than one night, so my siblings and I lovingly called these vacations, “adventures.”

When do you think, “Man, I love what I do”?

I love it when I’m listening to mock jurors deliberate and have an aha moment of insight into the driving force behind a particular juror’s viewpoint.

Publications and Presentations

Barnes, B. A., Dellapaolera, K. S., Bornstein, B. H., & Douglass, A. B. (2021). Witnessing the witness: Video-recorded procedures enhance credibility. Criminal Law Bulletin, 57(3).

Bornstein, B. H., Hamm, J. A., Dellapaolera, K. S., Kleynhans, A. K., & Miller, M. K. (2020). JUST: A measure of jury system trustworthiness. Psychology, Crime and Law, 26, 797-822.

Dellapaolera, K. S., Gervais, S. J., Fessinger, M. B., Bornstein, B. H., & Neal, T. M. S. (2020, March). The effects of gist information and scientific quality on damages in a civil trial. Paper presented at the annual American Psychology-Law Society Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Pearce, M. W., & Dellapaolera, K. S. (2019). Supreme Court to review discrimination in jury selection. Monitor on Psychology, 50, 29.

Key, K. N., Neuschatz, J. S., Bornstein, B. H., Wetmore, S. A., Luecht, K. M., Dellapaolera, K. S., & Quinlivan, D. S. (2018). Beliefs about secondary confession evidence: A survey of laypeople and defense attorneys. Psychology, Crime and Law, 24, 1-13.

Pearce, M. W., & Dellapaolera, K. S. (2018). How long can inmates legally be deprived of outdoor activity? Monitor on Psychology, 49, 31.

Reed, K., Dellapaolera, K. S., Thimsen, S., & Bornstein, B. H. (2018). An empirical analysis of law-psychology journals: Who’s publishing and on what? In M. K. Miller & B. H. Bornstein (Eds.), Advances in Psychology and Law (vol. 3). New York, NY: Springer Science Business Media.

Dellapaolera, K. S., & Bornstein, B. H. (2017, March). Predictors of Eyewitness Memory Knowledge. Paper presented at the annual American Psychology-Law Society Conference, Seattle, WA.

Dellapaolera, K. S., & Bornstein, B. H. (2016, March). Retrospective eyewitness judgments: Accurate versus comparative post-identification feedback and double-blind procedures. Paper presented at the annual American Psychology-Law Society Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Pearce, M. W., & Dellapaolera, K. S. (2015). Can statistics alone prove discrimination? Monitor on Psychology, 46, 26.

Alogna, V. K., Attaya, M. K., Aucoin, P., Bahník, Š., Birch, S., Birt, A. R., … Dellapaolera, K. S., … Zwaan, R. A. (2014). Registered replication report: Schooler & Engstler-Schooler (1990). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 556-578.

See how our team can help you succeed.

From research to strategy to at-trial consulting, JurySync will be your trusted ally in evaluating the case and developing theories and themes that set you up for success.