Shari R. Berkowitz

Dr. Shari R. Berkowitz serves as a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Administration at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where her work bridges psychological science and legal practice. Her research critically examines memory vulnerabilities within criminal justice systems.

Her academic foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in Psychology from University of California, Irvine
• B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Irvine

Specializing in eyewitness memory and false confession phenomena, Dr. Berkowitz investigates how cognitive distortions contribute to wrongful convictions. Her findings have been prominently featured in national media including NPR (2017), Salon (2016), and Reuters (2016), specifically addressing sleep deprivation's impact on false confessions and eyewitness reliability. This work demonstrates direct translation of psychological research into legal reform discussions.

Professionally, she provides expert consultation across all U.S. court systems, having advised both prosecution and defense teams in criminal and civil cases involving memory evidence. Her testimony focuses on scientific standards for eyewitness identification and confession validity.