Grace Hanzelin, PhD

Grace Hanzelin, PhD, employs advanced academic rigor and practical trial consulting expertise as the foundation for her work as an associate jury consultant at IMS Legal Strategies. She specializes in navigating complex legal challenges, using her experience in trial consultation, quantitative methodology, and legal and policy research to maximize clients’ opportunity for successful outcomes.

As a member of IMS’s litigation consulting team, Grace supports clients in developing trial strategies and provides insights on juror behavior. She utilizes mock trials and focus group data to assess case narratives and identify potential strengths and weaknesses. She also conducts surveys and reviews trial transcripts and jury feedback to understand community attitudes and potential juror biases.

Grace previously served as a senior researcher on the litigation consultant team at Scientific Resources for the Law (SRL). Her jury consulting work included online and social media research, processing jury questionnaires and mock jury interviews, interviewing jurors, and providing on-site data analysis and presentations.

In her personal time, Grace is an avid reader and has formed a book club to share her passion with friends. She loves to spend time with her partner Sam and their dog Winston.

Education

• PhD, Legal Psychology, with a graduate certificate in Quantitative Methods in Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso
• MA, Experimental Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso
• MS, Criminology, The University of Pennsylvania
• BA, Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University

Notable Publications and Presentations

• Hanzelin, G., Reed, K., Wagner, M., & Bornstein, B. (2024). Myths about Juror Decision-Making and the Jury Process. In M. K. Miller, L.A. Yelderman, J. Cantone., & M. Huss (Eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology of Legal Decision-Making
• Hanzelin, G. & Reed, K. A threat to valid guilty pleas: Guilt status, acute stress, and knowledge in defendant plea decision-making. American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA. March 19-22, 2024.
• Hanzelin, G., Reed, K., Fessinger, M., & Gonzales, R. The role of using a victim’s name and story on support for a piece of legislation: Results from open-ended response analyses. American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 15-18, 2023.