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.
Charles H. Heller, PhD, is a Forensic Psychology Expert with over 35 years of experience in his field. Dr. Heller is currently on staff at Rutgers University Biomedical Health service, specializing in criminal behavior and risk assessment. He also serves as a forensic psychologist consultant for the Rockland County (NY) court evaluation service, where he has performed hundreds of child custody, as well as criminal competency and child abuse/neglect evaluations. Litigation Support - Dr. Heller specializes in conducting custody evaluations, providing the review and analysis of potentially mitigating circumstances in connection with criminal behavior, and providing consultation to attorneys regarding civil litigation. He has extensive court experience in Civil, Criminal, and Family Court cases. Dr. Heller is a fully vetted and approved forensic psychologist for the NJ Office of the Public Defender as well as other Public Defender offices. (Federal Public Defender, Legal Aid in Manhattan, Bronx, Kings and the NYC assigned counsel program). He often travels throughout the US as a forensic consultant in important court cases including military Court Martials, death row assessment, sexual abuse, assault and multiple homicides. He is well known and respected among his colleagues as a clinician and as a forensic psychologist/expert witness. Civil Litigation - (Emotional and Mental Injury) - Dr. Heller is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel to assess plaintiffs for emotional and mental injury. He takes an unbiased, ethical approach to assessments and is not "a hired gun." He is an expert in objective evaluations that assess the probability the plaintiff is suffering PTSD, other emotional injuries, or if there is exaggeration of symptoms based upon psychological testing and other data. He has expertise in cases that involve group home / residential schools, provider negligence, and assaults. Criminal Litigation - Dr. Heller is experienced in providing successful rebuttal testimony explaining the scientific issues related to the problems of validity, reliability, and usefulness of "Syndrome evidence" such as "Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome" and "Rape Trauma Syndrome." He testifies in child sexual abuse cases and explains research related to false allegations, recantations, memory, suggestibility, child testimony, interview protocols, and "Believed-In Imaginings" in children and adults. He has expertise in domestic violence and has assessed women who have been victims of intimate partner violence and "Battered Women Syndrome" that contributed to homicides, assaults, and other felonies by the victims of abuse.
Dr. Jane K. McNaught, PhD is a locally and nationally recognized Forensic Psychological Expert specializing in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with adults and children. Over the course of her more than 35 years of practice, she has worked with both Defense and Plaintiff attorneys and has also been a Court appointed expert. Dr. McNaught has administered more than 1700 psychological test batteries and testified on over 500 occasions as a forensic expert in the areas of: Civil, Criminal, and Family Law. She also provides trial consultation for attorneys. Dr. McNaught has been qualified and testified as an expert in PTSD, for both the U.S. Army as well as the U.S. Navy. In addition she has testified as an expert in both District and Federal court. Dr. McNaught practices in the areas of Civil, Criminal, and Family Law cases involving trauma to both adults and children.
Kim A. Hart has over 25 years of experience assisting attorneys in the successful defense of persons accused of Child Abuse and/or Sex Crimes as well as successfully appealing those wrongfully convicted of child abuse and/or sex crimes.
Sherryll Kraizer, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert and author in child sexual abuse, bullying, special education, and child safety. 
