Children's Rights Expert Witnesses

Dr. Erika Simmons’ work as a Certified Life Care Planner is distinguished by more than 20 Years of experience in Education, Special Education, and Educational Leadership, combined with doctoral-level training and real-world systems oversight. This background uniquely positions Dr. Simmons to serve as both a life care planning professional and a credible expert witness, particularly in cases involving children, adolescents, and young adults with educational, behavioral, and developmental needs.

As a former principal, district director, and adjunct professor in special education, Dr. Simmons brings an applied understanding of how services are designed, delivered, documented, and evaluated within public and private educational systems. This enables her to develop life care plans that are not only comprehensive, but realistic, evidence-based, and aligned with how supports are actually implemented in schools and related service environments.

Dr. Simmons’ expertise in IEP Development, Functional Behavior Assessments, MTSS, and Progress Monitoring allows her to clearly articulate educational and behavioral needs in a manner that withstands legal scrutiny. She is able to explain complex educational concepts, service delivery models, and future support needs in clear, accessible language for judges, juries, and attorneys—bridging the gap between educational practice and legal standards.

Areas of Expertise:

• Forensic review of educational records, evaluation of IEP development and implementation, and analysis of progress monitoring practices to determine whether students were provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
• Examination of the legal and procedural integrity of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA), Behavioral Intervention Plans, accommodations, and related services, assessing alignment with statutory requirements and established professional standards.

Having served in leadership roles responsible for compliance, program evaluation, and assessment at the district level, Dr. Simmons understands the legal and regulatory frameworks governing special education and related services. This perspective strengthens her expert testimony by grounding opinions in established standards, data-driven decision-making, and accepted professional practices.

In expert witness settings, Dr. Simmons is experienced in reviewing records, identifying service gaps, projecting future educational and functional needs, and supporting opinions with documentation, research, and professional standards. Her testimony reflects a balanced, objective approach rooted in professional experience, methodological rigor, and a clear understanding of the long-term educational and life impacts of injury or disability.

Dr. Robert Evans, PhD,  is a Licensed School Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the behavioral sciences, including completing over 100 Child Custody Evaluations. Dr. Evans serves as a consultant to the medical, legal, and law enforcement community in Florida on Psychological and Educational matters. He consulted with Orange County Public Defender with cases involving arrest and incarceration of children, including Competency Assessments and Insanity Determinations. He has also provided Critical Incident Stress Debriefings to victims of crime in the Central Florida area. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Evans specializes in Parental Alienation cases which are commonly among those classified as High Conflict Divorce cases and he has written a book on Parental Alienation. He provides litigation support to counsel for both Plaintiff and Defense. His services include support with hearing / trial preparations, review of current evaluations, and support during and after the litigation process. 

Dr. Evans has given sworn testimony as a Forensic Psychology expert witness in NY, IL, PA, GA, FL, IA, ID, CO, OH, TX, TN, LA, MA, MD, MO, NC, SC, WA, and OR. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Parental Alienation
• Child Custody Evaluations
• False Allegations of Abuse
• Treatment Considerations for Alienated Children

Seth Goldstein, is an attorney representing parents and children in family violence cases for 23 years. His practice uses the successful multi-disciplinary prosecution model bringing to a case the special expertise of various professionals involved. Since 1994, he has been the Executive Director of the Child Abuse Forensic Institute, a non-profit resource and referral organization he created using the same approach handling child abuse based in Monterey, California. When working for the district attorney in Napa County, his program achieved a 96.5% conviction rate, at charging, charging 75% of the cases brought to the program. He currently sits as an advisory board member for the Family Violence Appeals Project, Oakland, California, that has had an amassed an unprecedented 85% success rate in its appeals.

Mr. Goldstein has worked as a consultant for the State of California on the subject of response to domestic violence; the National Counsel of Juvenile and Family Court Judges on family violence, a law enforcement investigator specializing in the investigations of Sexual Assault, Child Physical and Sexual Abuse, and Family Violence for the Berkeley Police Department, the Santa Clara and Napa County District Attorney’s Offices. He has testified as an expert witness in Criminal, Civil, Juvenile Dependency and Family Law courts in California and other states on these subjects. He has written and been published on the topics of family violence and child abuse in various national journals, publications. His book on investigating child sexual abuse by Seth Goldstein is in its second edition.

Expertise: Analysis and testimony on the dynamics of child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Consultation and assistance in search for evidence, preparing for and executing trial strategies.

Experience: 41 years working in the field of interpersonal violence, child abuse, and domestic violence as frontline investigator, district attorney investigator, Project Director of Child Abuse Prosecution Program, expert witness, consultant and attorney in same fields.

Education/Training: Police Academy, 1973; Minor in Psychology/Sociology, SFSU, 100's hours of specialized training in psychological dynamics of interpersonal violence, child abuse and domestic violence, court qualified expert in several states on sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, police procedures in investigating these matters. Attorney for 23 years representing parties and children in these matters in civil, criminal and juvenile courts.

Degrees/Certifications: BA, Rhetoric, 1977, U.C., Berkeley JD, Oakland College of Law, 1993

Awards/Honors: ABA Gavel Award, 1980; Officer of the Year, California State Juvenile Officer's Assn, 1990; Top Attorneys of America, 2018-2019, Who's Who Directories.

View Seth Goldstein's Consulting Profile.