Bio

Dr. Colleen Berryessa joined the faculty at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice in 2018. Her research, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, examines how psychological processes, perceptions, attitudes, and social contexts influence the criminal justice system, particularly in relation to courts, sentencing, and forms of punishment broadly defined.

She primarily examines these issues, using interdisciplinary methodologies, in relation to three areas: 1) how psychological and social phenomena influence public perceptions, support, and subsequent consideration of practices, policies, and the philosophical foundations surrounding sentencing; 2) how psychological and social phenomena influence the decision-making and discretion of criminal justice actors in courts, particularly during sentencing; and 3) how psychological and social phenomena bear on motivations for and effects of expanded forms of legal and social punitiveness beyond the formal punishment stages of the criminal justice system.

Dr. Berryessa received her Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Before Penn, she graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government and Mind, Brain, and Behavior, and she served as a CIRGE research fellow at Stanford University.

Her personal website is colleenberryessa.com, and information on her lab/trainees can be found here.

Selected Recent Publications

C.M. Berryessa and E. Greberman+. (2026). Judicial “Remorse Bias” and the Effects of Social Cognition on the Sentencing of Stereotyped Defendants. Journal of Criminal Justice, 104, 102663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2026.102663

C.M. Berryessa. (2026). Remorse Bias in Legal Decision-making. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 22, 6.1-6.15. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-042324-100041

C.M. Berryessa, M. de Vel-Palumbo, C. Caliman+, and M. Backzuk+. (2026). Honesty as a “Communicative Tool” in Sentencing: A Study of Judges from the U.S. and Australia. Journal of Criminal Justice, 102, 102575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102575

C.R. Caliman+ and C.M. Berryessa. (2025). Legal Defense of Autistic Defendants in the US: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Legal Professionals. Journal of Social Issues 81(4), e70034. https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.70034

K. Todorovic, M.A. Thomaidou+, C.M. Berryessa, and J. Cantone. (2025). Juvenile Defendants Experiencing Autism Spectrum Disorder: How Defendant Race and Offense Type Affect Juror Decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 49(6), 556–568. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000628

I. Polito+ and C.M. Berryessa. (2025). Politics in Policy: An Experimental Examination of Public Views Regarding Sentence Reductions via Second Chance Mechanisms. Law and Human Behavior, 49(3), 237-249. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000605

C.R. Caliman+ and C.M. Berryessa. (2025). Analyzing the Impacts of Race, Addiction, Drug Type, and Criminal Record on Public Support for Criminalized and Medicalized Sentencing Approaches toward Illegal Drug Use. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-024-09657-2

M. Millar+, C.M. Berryessa, C. Willis-Esqueda, J.A. Cantone, D. Goldfarb, M. de Vel-Palumbo, A.D. Perillo, T.O. Taylor, and L.T. Becker+. (2024). Essentialism and the Criminal Legal System. Law and Human Behavior, 48(5-6), 597–612. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000576

M.A. Thomaidou+, A. Patel+, S. Xie+, and C.M. Berryessa. (2024). Machine Learning Analysis of a National Sample of U.S. Case Law Involving Mental Health Evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 94, 102266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102266

M.A. Thomaidou+ and C.M. Berryessa. (2023). Mental Illness as a Sentencing Determinant: A Comparative Case Law Analysis Based on a Machine Learning Approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 50(7), 976-995. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231170801

C.M. Berryessa. (2023). Therapeutic Approaches to Remorse in Sentencing Recommendations: A Qualitative Study of Probation Officers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 50(4), 497-520. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221139846

C.M. Berryessa, I.E. Dror, and B. McCormack. (2022). Prosecuting from the Bench? Examining Potential Sources of Pro-Prosecution Bias in Judges. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 28(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12226

C.M. Berryessa. (2022). Modeling “Remorse Bias” in Probation Narratives: Examining Social Cognition and Judgments of Implicit Violence During Sentencing. Journal of Social Issues, 78(2), 452-482. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12508

C.M. Berryessa. (2021). Defendants with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Criminal Court: A Judges’ Toolkit. Drexel Law Review, 13(4), 841-868. https://drexel.edu/law/lawreview/issues/Archives/v13-4/berryessa/

C.M. Berryessa. (2021). A Tale of “Second Chances:” An Experimental Examination of Popular Support for Early Release Mechanisms that Reconsider Long-term Prison Sentences. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 18, 783-824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-021-09466-x

+ indicates student/trainee