Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Sep 7

Me at any professional conference:

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Sep 5

If you have already or will successfully defend a legal psychology dissertation in 2025, apply for the @ap-ls.org
Dissertation Award by December 31! Winners will be invited to present their research at the AP-LS Annual Conference in March 2026!

More info here: ap-ls.org/awards/awards/dissertation

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Sep 5

Looking for a job?

It's a tough job market for scientists (either seeking their first job or a new job), so how can they apply their research, leadership, and problem-solving skills to be successful?

Some tips here: www.apa.org/monitor/2025...

www.apa.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Jul 30

If you’re going to the American Psychological Association Convention next week, let me know! The APA President gave me two minutes during the presidential opening session to discuss the #LegalPsych perspective.

Small time period, but large audience. I hope to spark some conversations!

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Jul 24

It’s #legalpsych because of the likely child bystander emotional damage!

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Jul 24

A Chuck E. Cheese employee in full costume was arrested by Tallahassee officers for credit card fraud

www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

A police officer arrests Chuck E Cheese while children watch in the background

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Jul 22

Witnesses have a harder time identifying armed vs unarmed people because they focus their attention on the weapon, right?

Maybe not. New #legalpsych research questions longstanding research on the weapon focus effect.

See: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

@apajournals.bsky.social

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Jun 26

This morning, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a capital defendant seeking DNA evidence.

Might be of interest to my #LegalPsych #Forensic #Law friends.

news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Supreme Court Sides With Capital Defendant Seeking DNA Testing

The US Supreme Court sided with a Texas death row inmate seeking DNA evidence to overturn his sentence.

news.bloomberglaw.com

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Reposted by Jason Cantone

Taya Henry, MSc @tayadhenry.bsky.social · Jun 17

Our lab’s first study is published in @pppl-journal.bsky.social! We review definitions used in psych & law to describe those wrongly involved in the legal system. doi.org/10.1037/law0000468

@gblancovelasco.com
@carinacardoso.bsky.social
@karlihamilton.bsky.social
@kimberleyclow.bsky.social

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Jun 3

WE ARE HIRING!

If you're a graduate student interested in social science and law, apply by July 6 to be a PAID Federal Judicial Center student research assistant for Fall 2025. The position is currently remote-eligible (U.S. only).

Questions? See: www.usajobs.gov/job/837642100

Graduate Student Research Assistant

The <a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fjc.gov%2F&data=05%7C02%7CColin.Beach%40opm.gov%7C56b369e4f84847e9052a08dd4aba147e%7C844ef9977b6348f0882a7dc8162e363b...

www.usajobs.gov

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 25

Am I the best artist? Nope. But art is a good stress relief and I wanted something for my office.

Called “Predator” bc it’s a shark but also bc it’s painted on whitewashed pages from a law review article I wrote on the ethics of sexually violent predator laws.

I’m definitely a #LegalPsych nerd.

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Reposted by Jason Cantone

Tess Neal @tessneal.bsky.social · May 23

If interested in the intersection btwn #psychology & #law, there are starter packs with people working in the area. This pack has grown over time, so if you saw it last year it's fuller now (e.g., now has Am Psych-Law Soc'y bsky.app/profile/ap-l...! (lmk if you want to be added!) go.bsky.app/KS4zG4s

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Reposted by Jason Cantone

Dr. Diaz Eaton up to Good Trouble @mathprofcarrie.bsky.social · May 22

NSF just released a public list of terminated awards. It’s linked on the bottom of the FAQ page at: nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities#termination-list

Updates on NSF Priorities

nsf.gov

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 19

Same. And people remain floored that I still don’t drink coffee.

Marin K. Levy @marinklevy.bsky.social · May 19

I thought coffee cake actually contained coffee! In college someone kindly offered me a piece and I demurred (“I don’t like coffee”) and only then learned the error of my ways — and what I had been missing!

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 14

Tomorrow’s goal is learning to import an SPSS file into RStudio!

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 13

Opened an intro to R book. It was not at the intro level. Closed book.

Any recs for VERY intro to R resources? I can google but I want to learn and not just copy/paste.

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 13

Legal psychology is an exciting field that addresses many hot topics.

Thank you to APA for inviting me to write a short article encouraging high school teachers to teach legal psych!

Less than a month from idea to publication. Check it out here:
www.apa.org/ed/precolleg...

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 13

I’m committed to learning R this year and the only way to do it is through public accountability.

This week: Updated RStudio (from 2023 when I last started this), downloaded packages, reviewed @emilynordmann.bsky.social’s recent APA talk and prep materials.

Let this be the year!

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Reposted by Jason Cantone

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · May 12

This is the most tragically American thing I’ve ever read www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/u...

Rebecca Jaramillo stepped out of the Santa Fe jail and into the cold one night in January 2021. After two days in a cell, she was free, but no one was there to pick her up. So, with a snowstorm coming, she began the long walk toward town.
The jail in Santa Fe, surrounded by barbed wire and tumbleweed, sits on a remote stretch of highway far from the city's bustling plaza and historic churches. It is nearly two miles down the highway to the closest gas station, three miles to where a sidewalk starts and eight miles to the nearest homeless shelter.
Ms. Jaramillo, 33, made it only about a mile from the jail that night before she was hit by a sheriff's deputy driving a police pickup truck at 57 miles per hour. Her body was thrown more than 100 feet, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ms. Jaramillo, who was struck by the sheriff's deputy in 2021, had once worked as a correctional officer herself at a jail not too far away before falling on harder times. She had been booked into the jail for trespassing at a homeless shelter that banned her. A police report from the crash said she had been walking in the middle of a lane on the highway.

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 9

Rest in Peace, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Souter

www.reuters.com/world/us/for...

Former US Supreme Court Justice Souter dies, court says

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter died on Thursday at his New Hampshire home, the court said in a statement on Friday. He was 85.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Jason Cantone

NPR @npr.org · May 6

Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.

Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds

Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.

www.npr.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 6

Thanks to those of you who shared your time and insight. The short article will be out soon!

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Apr 17

Any friends here teach high school #psychology? APA asked me to write a short article for high school teachers about legal psychology. What are students interested in learning more about: Confessions? Eyewitness testimony? Juries? Expert testimony? Judicial decision-making?

Let me know!

Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · May 6

How have forensic psychologists' statistical reporting practices changed since 2000? Answer from Eastwood, @kirkluther.bsky.social, and colleagues: Slowly.

Check out their new @lhb-apls.bsky.social @apajournals.bsky.social research here:
psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Apr 25

Do judges view psychiatrists and psychologists differently when they offer testimony on an individual’s competency to stand trial?

Check out NEW RESEARCH here for the answer: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

@apajournals.bsky.social @pppl-journal.bsky.social

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Apr 23

Forensic psychologists conducting competence to stand trial evaluations may be at high risk of professional burnout due to the ongoing increase in demand for competence evaluations.

NEW research from @apajournals.bsky.social here:

psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

APA PsycNet

psycnet.apa.org

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Jason Cantone @jasoncantone.bsky.social · Apr 17

Any friends here teach high school #psychology? APA asked me to write a short article for high school teachers about legal psychology. What are students interested in learning more about: Confessions? Eyewitness testimony? Juries? Expert testimony? Judicial decision-making?

Let me know!

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