Dr J.M. Schell - Leugers

Dr. Schell-Leugers is an Associate Professor of Legal Psychology who has been teaching at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Honours College of Maastricht University for over 15 years. Her research focuses on false confessions and their impact on wrongful convictions. She is particularly interested in examining risk factors for innocent suspects in police custody and the gap between science and practice in the field of Legal Psychology.

Together with two colleagues from Leiden University and Marburg University, she co-founded the European Registry of Exonerations (EUREX). The goal of EUREX is to collect data on European cases of miscarriages of justice and establish an online registry to inform academics, legal professionals, police practitioners, policy makers, and the public on the number, causes, and consequences of wrongful convictions in Europe.

She coordinates and teaches topics in Legal Psychology and Violence Prevention. At the Centre for European Studies, she co-coordinates and teaches a course in Forensic Psychology. Furthermore, she supervises undergraduate research projects, Bachelor and Master Theses in the field of Legal Psychology. Since 2023, she is the Director of Research at UCM. 

Furthermore, she is invested in working toward a healthy work-life balance for academics. She has been a member of the University Council for four years (2019-2023). Since 2022, she is a member of the Maastricht Young Academy (MYA), and since 2024 she is the Chair of the MYA.