Monica Miller, Ph.D., J.D.

Foundation Professor, Criminal Justice
Monica Miller
she, her, hers

Summary

Monica Miller is a Foundation Professor with a split appointment between the Department of Criminal Justice and the interdisciplinary Social Psychology Ph.D. program. She is also an adjunct faculty at the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies and an affiliate of the Department of Gender, Race, and Identity.

Miller received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law and her doctorate in social psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Her interests involve the application of psychological theories and justice principles to laws and policies. Specifically, she is interested in social cognitive biases (i.e., gender and religion-based prejudice) and individual differences in moral and legal decisions (e.g., jury decisions); how the law regulates the family; how community sentiment and science relate to the law; how problem-solving courts address social issues and social justice; and the well-being of those who interact with the legal system (including the use of therapy dogs).

Please contact Dr. Miller if you are interested in working in her lab as an undergraduate or graduate student.

Selected publications

(Students in bold)

Books

  • Miller, M. K., Yelderman, L. A., Huss, M. T., & Cantone, J. A. (Eds.) (under contract). The Cambridge handbook of legal decision making. Cambridge University Press.
  • Miller, M. K. (under contract; expected 2022). The social science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A call to action for researchers. Oxford University Press.
  • Miller, M. K., Blumenthal, J. A., & Chamberlain, J. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of community sentiment. Springer.
  • Miller, M. K., Chamberlain, J., & Wingrove, T. (Eds.). (2014). Psychology, law, and the wellbeing of children. Oxford University Press.
  • Bornstein, B. H., & Miller, M. K. (2009). God in the courtroom: Religion’s role at trial. Oxford University Press.

Journal articles

  • Meyer, A. R., McDermott, C. M., Miller, M. K., & Marsh, S. (in press). Judges’ perceptions of facility dogs in the courtroom. Juvenile and Family Court Journal.
  • McDermott, C. M., Marsh, S., Miller, M. K., & Forte, T. (2021) From the doghouse to the courthouse: Facility dogs as trial aids for vulnerable witnesses. Trends in State Courts, 47-51.
  • Kirshenbaum, J. M., & Miller, M. K. (2020). Judges’ experiences with mitigating jurors’ implicit biases. Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2020.1837029
  • Miller, M. K., Clark, J., & Alvarez, M. J. (2020). Exploring the boundaries of societally acceptable bias expression toward Muslim and atheist defendants in four mock-juror experiments. The Social Science Journal. doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2019.09.004
  • DeVault, A. & Miller, M. K. (2019). Justification-suppression and normative window of prejudice as determinants of bias toward lesbians, gays, and bisexual adoption applicants. Journal of Homosexuality, 66, 465-486. org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1414497
  • Edwards, C. P., & Miller, M. K. (2019). An assessment of judges’ self-reported experiences of secondary traumatic stress. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 70, 7-29. org/10.1111/jfcj.12134.
  • Wood, S. M., DeVault, A. , Miller, M. K., Kemmelmeier, M., & Summers, A. D. (2019). Decision-making in civil litigation: effects of attorney credibility, evidence strength, and juror cognitive processing. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 10.1111/jasp.12600
  • West, M. P., Yelderman, L., & Miller, M. K. (2018). Gender differences in the evaluation of aggravating and mitigating circumstances: The mediating role of attributional complexity. Psychology, Crime and Law, 24, 761-789. doi: 10.1080/1068316X.2018.1438432
  • Yelderman, L. A., Miller, M. K., Forsythe, S., Sicafuse, L. (2018). Understanding crime control theater: Do sample type, gender and emotions relate to support for crime control theater policies? Criminal Justice Review.
  • Alvarez, M. A., & Miller, M. K. (2016). Counterfactual thinking about crime control theater: Mock jurors decision-making in an AMBER Alert trial. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22, 349-361. doi: 10.1037/law0000098
  • Miller, M. K., Lindsey, S. C., & Kaufman, J. (2014). The religious conversion and race of a prisoner: Mock parole board members' decisions, perceptions, and emotions. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 19, 104-130. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02063.x
  • Miller, M. K., Wood, S., & Chomos, J. C. (2014). Relationships between support for the death penalty and cognitive processing: A comparison of students and community members. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41, 731-750. doi: 10.1177/0093854813509369
  • Sigillo, A., Miller, M. K., & Weiser, D. (2012). Attitudes toward non-traditional women using IVF: The importance of political affiliation and religious characteristics. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4, 249-263. doi:10.1037/a0027940
  • Miller, M. K., Maskaly, J., Green, M., & Peoples, C. D. (2011). The effects of deliberations and religious identity on mock jurors' verdicts. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 14, 517-532. doi:10.1177/1368430210377458
  • Reichert, J., Miller, M. K., Bornstein, B. H., & Shelton, D. (2011). How reason for surgery and juror bias against overweight patients affect verdicts in medical malpractice trials. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 29, 395-418. doi:10.1002/bsl.969
  • Jehle, A., Miller, M. K., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2009). The influence of accounts and remorse on mock jurors' judgments of offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 33, 393-404. doi:10.1007/s10979-008-9164-6.
  • Miller, M. K., & Hayward, R. D. (2008). Religious characteristics and the death penalty. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 113-123. doi:10.1007/s10979-007-9090-z
  • Padilla, J. B., Miller, M. K., & Broadus, A. (2008). Analysis of Hispanic representation and conceptualization in psychology and law research. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 26, 655-670. doi:10.1002/bsl.818

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. students

Education

  • Certificate (2021) Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Certificate (2004) Public Policy and Program Evaluation (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
  • Ph.D. (2004) Social psychology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Law-Psychology Program)
    Doctoral dissertation: Use of Religious Appeals in Closing Arguments: Policy Implications for Judges and Policy-makers
  • J.D. (2002) Juris Doctorate of law (University of Nebraska College of Law)
  • M.A. (2002) Social psychology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
    Thesis: Self-Concept Regulating Mechanisms and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Programs
  • B.A. Distinction (1998) Psychology; Minors: Sociology, English (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)