Sentencing Consultants Expert Witnesses: 4

Steven Gaskell, Psy.D. is a Forensic Psychologist, license eligible in all 50 states, and licened in Illinois, Georgia, Florida, and Kansas. 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 1000 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

The Pacific Forensic Group is a California firm of nine highly vetted experts in the areas of Forensic Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Neurology.  Dr. Ernst, the forensic director, specializes in PTSD, Mitigation and Resentencing, Testamentary Capacity, and Employment Evaluations. He is one of fewer than 45 Board Certified Forensic Psychologists in California. Dr. Ernst is an Associate Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry where he provides teaching and supervision on a voluntary basis. As a trauma expert, Dr. Ernst chose to complete an additional year of fellowship training in PTSD at the San Francisco Veterans Hospital.

The Pacific Forensic Group team of experts also include:

-Dr. Peter Brain Andersson, Board Certified Neurologist, Specializing in Traumatic Brain Injury, Neurocognitive Disorders, Multiple Sclerosis

-Dr. Charles Filanosky, Board Certified Rehabilitation Psychologist, Specializing in Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD

-Dr. David Contreras, Board Certified Forensic Psychologist, Specializing in Juvenile Competency to Stand Trial, Transfer/Waiver to Adult Court, Juvenile Sexual Offenses

-Dr. Lisa Kalich, Board Certified Forensic Psychologist, Specializing in Personal Injury, Parenting Capacity, Sexual Offender and Violence Risk Assessment for Adults and Juveniles, Disability, Child Witness Issues.

-Dr. Jerry Lockhart, Board Certified Forensic Psychologist, Bilingual (Spanish-English Specializing in Juvenile Competency and SVP consultation

-Dr. Laurel Mattos, Forensic Psychologist, Specializing in Trial Competency, NGRI, Mental Health Diversion, Violence Risk Assessment

-Dr. Elise Yenne, Forensic Psychologist, Specializing in Juvenile and Adult Trial Competency, Violence Risk Assessment Transfer Hearings

-Dr. Trayci Dahl, Board Certified Forensic Psychologist, Specializing in Filicide, Capital Sentencing, and Threat Assessment 

-Dr. Mario Souza, Bilingual (Spanish-English) Board CeForensic Psychologist, Specializing in Violence Risk, Sex Offender Risk, Insanity, Mitigation, and Mental Health Diversion

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Ernst's Consulting Profile.

Mustafa A. Mufti, MD, is a board-certified general Adult Psychiatrist and Forensic Psychiatrist.  Presently, he serves as the Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Chrisitiana Care.  Prior to this, he served as the Clinical Director of Forensic Services at Delaware Psychiatric Center.   During his time as the Clinical Director of Forensic Services, he oversaw Delaware’s only maximum-security forensic psychiatric service center. 

After graduating from medical school, Dr. Mufti worked as a clinical researcher at Emory University School of Medicine. As a researcher, he worked on studies related to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and cardiovascular disease, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. 

Dr. Mufti completed his residency training at the Delaware Psychiatric Center and went on to complete a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been published in numerous reputable journals and he has presented at conferences nationally and internationally. In addition to his clinical and administrative responsibilities, Dr. Mufti is actively involved in the teaching of medical students, future psychiatrists, and forensic fellows in training.

Litigation Support - Dr. Mufti provides expert witness services for attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

• Competency to Stand Trial
• Mental State at the Time of the Offense
• Mental State for Death Penalty
• Disability
• Malpractice
• Testamentary Capacity
• Terrorism / Radicalization

View Dr. Mustafa A. Mufti'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:

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.