FIU experts to analyze Zimmerman verdict

FIU has several experts who are available to discuss various issues related to Zimmerman case and upcoming verdict.

LAW

H. Scott Fingerhut

Professor Fingerhut comes to the College of Law with more than 16 years of law teaching experience and 23 years as an AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rated criminal trial and appellate litigator. A frequent lecturer and writer on criminal justice matters, he is called upon often to pen amicus briefs on behalf of local, state and national organizations in defense of our liberties. Fingerhut is also very active in The Florida Bar, serving as chair-elect and Continuing Legal Education chair of the Criminal Law Section and a newly appointed member of the Florida Innocence Commission. He also serves on the Florida Supreme Court Criminal Court Steering Committee’s Post-Conviction Relief Workgroup, The Bar’s Committee to Study the Decline in Jury Trials, and just completed six years of service as a member of The Florida Bar Journal and Florida Bar News Editorial Board.

Office: 305-348-3182

fingerhut@fiu.edu

SOCIOLOGY

Percy Hintzen

Professor Hintzen comes to FIU with a diverse and robust academic background, having earned an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Guyana and graduate and doctorate degrees from Yale University in political sociology and comparative social change. Hintzen’s research, scholarship and scholarly practice is “trans-disciplinary” more than multi-disciplinary. It takes into account ways in which culture and institutions permeate, define, produce, and fashion every aspect of reality. He has presented his research in over one hundred papers at conferences and other forums. His areas of expertise include African studies, diaspora studies, political sociology and development, and comparative race and ethnicity.

Office: 305-348-4419

phintzen@fiu.edu

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Suman Kakar

Professor Kakar’s research has been published in national and international journals including the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, the Journal of Policing, and Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention. She also served as guest editor for the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Special Issue on Juvenile Justice in the New Millennium. She has contributed chapters to other books, such as the Handbook of Juvenile Justice: Theory and Practice and Crime and Justice Around the World. Kakar’s research interests include juvenile delinquency, minorities and crime, violence in schools, youth gangs, human trafficking and policing.

Office: 305-348-5992

kakars@fiu.edu

PSYCHOLOGY

Nadja Schreiber Compo

Dr. Schreiber-Compo is an Associate Professor and the Co-Director of FIU’s Legal Psychology Graduate Program. Her research focuses on investigative interviewing and eyewitness memory, especially in the context of vulnerable witnesses such as children or the intoxicated. She is both interested in potentially detrimental and beneficial interviewing techniques and their underlying cognitive and social mechanisms to improve the quality and quantity of witness and victim recall. She is further interested in studying other ‘players’ in the legal field, e.g., real-world investigator’s and legal professional’s perceptions, attitudes and behaviors. Her research findings are published in scientific journals such as Law and Human Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Psychology, Public Policy and the Law, Applied Cognitive Psychology and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Dr. Schreiber-Compo has worked with and trained several law enforcement agencies. She has also served as an expert witness in various legal cases. Her I-LAB involves a variety of undergraduate and graduate projects in the area of witness interviewing.

Office: 305-348-3384

schreibe@fiu.edu