Sentencing Consultants Expert Witnesses

Bonny Forrest, JD, PhD is a Psychologist and Attorney with specialized training in Neuropsychology, with an emphasis on cognitive, intellectual, and social-emotional development and disabilities. With 25 years of experience, her specialty certifications are numerous, including infant preschool mental health, and a variety of evidence-based treatments.

Having practiced law for a decade in major national firms, Dr. Forrest supervised complex litigations, including death-penalty cases. As a psychologist, she has testified successfully both in court and in depositions (including surviving a Daubert challenge and testifying for eight days in Federal court), and has been appointed as a parent coordinator by the court in high-conflict divorce proceedings.

Dr. Forrest has represented a number of children and families in IEP meetings and related proceedings. She was one of the first mental health experts to be certified at the highest level in the state of California as a “mentor” in working with children under the age of six.

Dr. Forrest is a very active member of a number of professional organizations and non-profits, serving in a number of leadership positions, including the following: American Psychological Association, National Academy of Neuropsychology, San Diego Psychological Association, and the Immigration Justice Project of the American Bar Association. She is licensed to practice in California and New York but has traveled for work where appropriate under local law.

Areas of Focus

Risk of Institutionalization Child Psychology Autism IEP Parent Coordination Brain Development Developmental Disabilities

Cognition Child Development Infant Preschool Mental Health Law and Psychology Death Penalty High-conflict Parenting Criminal Defense

Education - Education: PhD, Psychology/Pediatric Neuropsychology, Columbia University; JD, Indiana University; BA, Criminal Justice/Sociology, Purdue University

View Dr. Forrest's Consulting Profile.

Expertise: Specializing in applications of clinical psychiatry to legal issues in civil and criminal matters at the interface of Psychiatry and the Law. Has served as an evaluator or expert witness in about three hundred cases in State and Federal courts in matters relating to:

Mental State at Time-of-the-Offense Evaluations Insanity Defense / Diminished Capacity Civil & Criminal Competency Evaluations Competency to Stand Trial / Competency to Waive Miranda Rights Testamentary Capacity / Testimonial Capacity / Informed Consent Capital Sentencing & Mitigation Risk of Violence Assessments Sex Offenders Sexual Harassment Worker's Compensation

Independent Medical Evaluations / Psychiatric Disability Personal Injury / Pain & Suffering / Emotional Distress Workplace Violence Assessments Discrimination Evaluations under Americans With Disabilities Act Fitness for Duty Psychiatric Malpractice Toxic Tort Product Liability

Professional Background: Certified by ABPN in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychiatry and Law Program at MCP Hahanemann University. Director of Psychiatry & Law Program and Director of Correctional Mental Health Services Program/Provider of Mental Health Services for the City of Philadelphia Prison System. Formerly Director of Psychiatry & Law Program at the Medical College of Virginia. M.D. Degree -University of Massachusetts. Psychiatry Residency & Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship -Tulane University Medical Center.

Victor Lofgreen, PhD has over 30 years of experience and education in the fields of Corrections and Community Development. He is a prison and jail consultant who conducts cases analysis and develops reports to support litigation on prison and jail issues. Experience - Dr. Lofgreen has served as the CEO of a State Adult Correctional Institution and the Division Chief of a State Planning Agency for Corrections. He has authored numerous professional papers and articles on topics within his area of expertise as well as Agency Policy and Procedure Manuals and training materials. Litigation Support - Dr. Lofgreen's expertise is in Jail and Prison Policy and Procedures related to the standard of care for inmates by local, State, and Federal correctional agencies. His services are available to counsel representing plaintiff and defendant and include case review, case study and data analysis, report of Expert Opinion based on the evidence included in the case study, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. Areas of Expertise:

Death in Custody/ Inmate Suicide Use of Force Proper Booking Procedure Prison Searches Deliberate Indifference

Inmate Work Supervision Inmate Assault Staff Assault on Inmates Conditions of Confinement Prisoner Medical Care Standards

Steven Gaskell, Psy.D. is a Forensic Psychologist, license eligible in all 50 states. He has years of extensive experience providing a variety of Forensic Psychological Evaluations and testifying regarding a variety of legal issues. Dr. Gaskell has completed more than 2000 Forensic Psychological Assessments including over 600 pre-trial Competency to Stand Trial or Fitness to Stand Trial and Criminal Responsibility (Insanity Defense) psychological evaluations and he has provided expert testimony these issues on numerous occasions. Competency to Stand Trial/ Fitness to Stand Trial Criminal Responsibility or Sanity at the Time of the Offense Mitigating Factors Assessment Miranda Rights Issues (voluntariness, competency to confess, interrogative suggestibility) Malingering and Deception Sexual Assault Allegations Sex Offender Evaluations Sexually Violent Person Evaluations Pedophilia Paraphilias Future Likelihood of Sexual Re-Offense

Dr. Ernst specializes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Competency/Capacity evaluations, and employment evaluations. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and one of fewer than 35 psychologists in California who have undergone the rigorous examination process necessary to obtain Board Certification in Forensic Psychology. As a trauma expert, Dr. Ernst chose to complete an additional year of fellowship training in PTSD at the San Francisco Veterans Hospital.  Having completed over 350 forensic evaluations, Dr. Ernst is frequently retained to conduct a diverse range of civil and criminal evaluations including, but not limited to, mitigation evaluations (juvenile & adult), competency/capacity evaluations, personal injury evaluations, mental state at the time of the offense evaluations, violence risk assessment, and employment evaluations. He is currently a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the California Department of Industrial Relations and serves as a member of the Criminal Panel for Psychological and Psychiatric Experts for multiple Superior Courts. Dr. Ernst's past professional experiences including providing treatment and expert testimony as a member of the medical staff of Napa State Hospital and completing VA forensic evaluations on veteran's alleging psychiatric injury from military trauma. Areas of Expertise:

Assessment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Personal Injury Evaluations Employment Evaluations Assessment of Civil and Criminal Competencies Violence Risk Assessment / Threat Assessment Mitigation Evaluations Capital Sentencing Evaluations MSO Evaluations Assessment of Neuropsychological Functioning Assessment of Malingering

Independent Medical Exams (IME) Trial Consultation Disability Evaluations Drug Abuse / Drug Addictions Anxiety Disorders Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) Depressive Disorders Panic Disorders Schizophrenia Assessments Violence Evaluations

Alameda Office 1402 Park St., Suite C Alameda, CA 94501 Telephone: 415-913-8096

View Dr. Ernst's Consulting Profile.

Emin Gharibian, PsyD, is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology with over 10 years of experience in assessing, treating, and consulting on psychological disorders.

Dr. Gharibian's training and experience have been in psychological and neuropsychological assessments in a variety of clinical settings including private practice, outpatient mental health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, forensic hospitals, and correctional facilities. 

He specializes in providing comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for a variety of conditions including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, complications from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, concussions, learning disabilities, ADHD, and PTSD in clinical, civil, and criminal cases. 

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Gharibian is a staff psychologist and medical staff member at Patton State Hospital, a 1,500-bed maximum-security forensic psychiatric hospital housing judicially committed patients under the following commitment types: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), Incompetent to Stand Trial, Mentally Disordered Offender, and Mentally Disordered Sex Offender.  

As a forensic psychologist at Patton State Hospital, Dr. Gharibian conducts competency evaluations with criminally committed patients with severe mental illness and cognitive deficits. He routinely conducts psychological evaluations to evaluate patients and determine if they are competent to stand trial, writes court reports, and testifies in court as an expert witness. 

Dr. Gharibian has been appointed to the Los Angeles Juvenile Court Expert Witness Panel. He is also a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the American Psychology and Law Society. 

Areas of Forensic Expertise:

Personal Injury Independent Medical Evaluations Worker's Compensation Fitness for Duty Police Officer Pre-Employment Evaluations Immigration Cases Diminished Capacity Violence Risk Assessments Mitigating Factors in Criminal Cases Civil Capacity (Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Contractual Capacity) Symptom Validity/ Malingering

Forensic Psychology Forensic Neuropsychology Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Concussions Neurocognitive Impairment from Substance Use Complications from stroke Dementia Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Learning Disabilities ADHD Sexual Harassment Discrimination