P.L.E.A. LAB
Cutting Edge Simulation Technology
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The Plea Justice Project provides an interactive simulation of legal procedures, offering an alternative to existing paradigms in legal decision-making research (e.g., vignettes/narratives, high-stakes deception studies; Redlich et al., 2017; Wilford et al., 2019)
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This technology allows researchers to design their own customizable computer simulation of a variety of legal proceedings with unique actors and dialogues, used here in ongoing NSF-funded data collection.
Fellow P.L.E.A. lab members experimenting with the virtual reality simulation.
Advisory Panels
With funding from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Wilford has convened advisory panels to further the broad objectives of the Plea Justice project. The panels have included renowned experts in the fields of psychology, law, and public policy. Two different panels convened in 2019 and 2022 at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The final panel convened in 2024 at Iowa State University. Please find further information regarding each panel below.
The first advisory panel was focused on ways of making the Plea Justice simulation attractive to current guilty plea researchers. Many thanks to Atty. Karen Smolar, Dr. Vanessa Edkins, Dr. Erika Fountain, Dr. Annabelle Frazier, Dr. Kelsey Henderson, Dr. Allison D. Redlich, Dr. Tina M. Zottoli and their students for participating.
The second advisory panel centered around effective methods of recruitment for juvenile participants, and ways of effectively assessing juvenile comprehension of legal procedures. Many thanks to Dr. Tarika Daftary-Kapur, Dr. Rebecca K. Helm, Dr. Lindsay C. Malloy, Dr. Jodi A. Quas, Dr. Allison D. Redlich, Dr. Jennifer Woolard, and Dr. Tina M. Zottoli for their participation.
The third and final advisory panel centered around researcher-practitioner partnerships to explore future potential applications of the Plea Justice platform. Many thanks to Dr. Adele Quigley-McBride, Prof./Atty. Lucian Dervan, Dr. Allison Redlich, Dr. Amanda Nemoyer, Atty. Amy Fettig, Vanessa Meterko, Dr. Rebecca Dunlea, and Dr. Joseph Gonzales for their participation.