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Amanda Witwer

Amanda Witwer
  • PhD Candidate
  • School of Criminal Justice
  • BA 2018, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Biography

Amanda R. Witwer is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public policy analysis from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018. Her research interests include trial and appellate court decision making and sentencing policy, with a focus on sentencing guideline systems. Amanda’s work has been published in Crime & Delinquency, Federal Probation, and Public Administration Review. Her article on the relaxation of Michigan's sentencing guidelines won the Ben Steiner Excellence in Corrections Student Paper Award in 2023. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, she supported research on innovative criminal justice programs, policies, and technologies as a Research Analyst at RTI International and served as a Research Assistant with the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. She is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the National Association of Sentencing Commissions.

Selected Publications

Witwer, A.R. (2025). Discretion and Disagreement: A Longitudinal Study of Departures Under Presumptive and Advisory Sentencing Guidelines. Crime & Delinquency.

Chlebuch, N., Witwer, A.R., Cavanagh, C. (2025). Parental Hostility as a Moderator of the Criminogenic Effect of Parental Criminal Justice Contact Among Youth Adjudicated of Serious Offenses. Criminal Justice and Behavior.

Holmstrom, A., Morash, M., Witwer, A.R. (2025). The Roles of Verbal Person-Centeredness, Race, and Gender in Evaluations of Emotional Support Messages Parole and Probation Clients Receive from Agents. Communication Quarterly.

 

Holmstrom, A.J., Morash, M., & Witwer, A. (2025). Trait Self-Efficacy as a Moderator of Esteem Support Message Effects in the Parole/Probation Agent-Client Relationship. Communication Studies, 1–20.

Hamm, J.A., Ropp, J.W., Witwer, A., & Scott, B.A. (2023). Self-Efficacy, Prosocial Impact, and Self-Legitimacy as Psychological Predictors of Judicial Officer Performance. Public Administration Review.

DeMichele, M., Baumgartner, P., Wenger, M., Comfort, M., & Witwer, A. (2023). Where’s the Bias: No Evidence of Bias by Sex When Testing the Public Safety Assessment. Crime & Delinquency.

Langton, L., Planty, M., Banks, D., Witwer, A., Woods, D., Vermeer, M. & Jackson, B. Sex Trafficking and Substance Use: Identifying High Priority Needs Within the Criminal Justice System. National Institute of Justice (as part of the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative). 2022.

Oblea, P.N., Adams, A.R., Nguyen-Wu, E.D., Hawley-Molloy, J.S., Balsam, K., Badger, T.A., Witwer, A.R., & Cartwright, J. (2022). Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer Health-Care Experiences in a Military Population. Journal of Homosexuality.

Witwer, A., Langton, L., Banks, D., Woods, D., Vermeer, M., Jackson, B. Online Dispute Resolution: Perspectives to Support Successful Implementation and Outcomes in Court Proceedings. National Institute of Justice (as part of the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative). 2021.

Hamm, J.A., Ropp J., Scott B.A., Witwer, A.R. Virtual Courtroom Survey: Analysis Report. Michigan Supreme Court. 2021.

Lattimore, P., Tueller, S., Levin-Rector, A., Witwer, A. (2020). The Prevalence of Local Criminal Justice Practices. Federal Probation.

Witwer, A., Langton, L., Vermeer, M., Banks, D., Woods, D., & Jackson, B. Countering technology-facilitated abuse: Criminal justice strategies for combating nonconsensual pornography, sextortion, doxing and swatting. National Institute of Justice. 2020.

Gourdet, C., Witwer, A., Langton, L., Banks, D., Planty, M., Woods, D., & Jackson, B. Court appearances in criminal proceedings through telepresence: Identifying research and practice needs to preserve fairness while leveraging new technology. National Institute of Justice. 2020.