Jails - Prisons - Correctional Facilities (General) Consultants: 9

SIMCO specializes in Jail, Prison and Corrections Expert Witness and Consultation Services.  Founder, Joseph Gunja is a Jails, Prisons and Corrections Expert with more than 30 years of experience in the corrections industry.

Mr. Gunja had a distinguished career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) for over 28 years serving as a Correctional Officer, Shift Supervisor, Investigator, Captain, Associate Warden, and Warden at three complex correctional facilities. He also served as Regional Director of the Western Region for over 2 years and was assigned to the FBOP's Headquarters in Washington, DC where he was responsible for authoring national policy and official publications, providing technical expertise to the Assistant Director of Correctional Programs and facility Wardens, Associate Wardens, and Captains. 

Mr. Gunja also served as the Keynote Speaker and Trainer at the FBOP's Management and Specialty Training Center on a monthly basis After retiring from the FBOP in 2007, Mr. Gunja has been providing correctional consultation services. In addition, he has worked for two of the largest private corrections companies, CCA and GEO Group, as Warden at the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Oklahoma. 

Consulting Services Include:

View Joseph E. Gunja's Expert Witness Profile.

Sanjay Adhia, MD, MRO, is triple-Board-Certified in Psychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry. In addition to forensic/expert witness practice, Dr. Adhia has provided patient care in the Houston area. Currently, he is a neuropsychiatrist at Memorial Herman TIRR where he treats those with brain injury, stroke, and other neurological injuries. His forensic practice focuses on the psychiatric impact of personal injury, medical malpractice, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, competency, violence, and complicating mental illness, as well as psychiatric disability. 

Dr. Adhia is among one of the few Forensic Psychiatrists who is also Board-Certified in Brain Injury Medicine. Often, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be a major factor in litigation as it can result in psychiatric or neurocognitive impairments. He has expertise in psychopharmacology, the medicine of medication. 

In addition, Dr. Adhia works with Physicians for Human Rights to assess victims of kidnapping and false imprisonment, human trafficking, undue influence, physical and sexual abuse, rape, and fear of imminent death. In all populations, he assesses PTSD, Anxiety, Depressive Disorders, risk of suicide, and malingering. He is experienced in the treatment and impact of drug and alcohol abuse on decision-making. Dr. Adhia has also treated severe psychosis (Schizophrenia, hallucinations) and psychopathology. Dr. Adhia was formerly treating patients at a Maximum Security Prison and prison psychiatric hospital. He has treated Opioid Use Disorders. 

Dr. Adhia’s findings consider complicating factors, such as emotional distress worsened by other active physical and mental conditions. Other factors are pre-existing mental and physical illness, competency and capacity (e.g. dementia, Intellectual Disability.) As a physician, Dr. Adhia is uniquely qualified to review medical records and doctor reports. Institutional medicine, medical malpractice, and standard of care apply to both public and private facilities, including government, regulated correctional institutions, and psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Adhia is skilled in these med-legal issues. He conducts Independent Medical Examinations, review of records, and reports his med-legal findings and opinions. He is available to testify in civil, criminal, probate, Federal, Immigration, military, and administrative jurisdictions.

Michael Levine – Security and Investigative Consultant, D/B/A SENTAC INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS. Network of Ten-Percenters - There is an old saying in Federal Law Enforcement: “Ten percent of the investigators are responsible for ninety percent of the cases.” Mike Levine is one of the most decorated supervisory agents in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He has 45 years of courtroom and field experience (civil and criminal) as a Trial Consultant, Expert witness, and Investigative / Security Consultant. A Police Training Consultant, 

Mr. Levine specializes in Undercover Survival and Informant Handling Tactics and Procedures, saving lives and providing indemnity to law suits. Mr. Levine has direct and immediate access to a hand-picked network of investigators comprised of men and women who have proven themselves with long experience as creative, hard driving and successful experts in each of their fields, and like himself are each much awarded veterans of law enforcement.

 Services Offered:

• Complicated Investigations in Support of Litigation (intra and international)
• Personal Security Assessments and Counseling (all areas)
• Plant and Operational Security Assessments and Counseling (all areas)
• Sensitive Position Background Investigations and Counseling
• Investigative and Research Support Extensively Backed by a Continually Updated Database of Information that Relates to Each Area Expertise
• Media & Technical Consulting

Background Experience - Michael Levine's law enforcement career encompasses 25 years service with DEA, Customs, BATF & IRS Criminal Investigations Division. His supervisory experience includes being in command of task force units combining officers of FBI, BATF, IRS, Customs, NYPD and other local police agencies. During Mr. Levine's Department of Justice service, he served as an OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) Inspector during which time he was trained in the reliable methods of investigative file review in affixing management responsibility for operational failures, tactics which he has continued to use in the analysis of cases and the testimony related thereto. 

Mr. Levine has extensive experience working executive protection details for both the Secret Service and Department of Justice and is a graduate of the Secret Service Executive Protection Training Program. He also served as a Security Consultant and Operational Advisor for a major internet pharmaceutical company. 

Michael Levine is currently lecturing on Undercover Tactics and Informant Handling for the US State Department in Brazil. His widely published articles and books include the New York Times and national best-sellers Deep Cover, The Big White Lie, and Fight Back, the community anti-drug plan recommended by the Clinton Administration Drug Policy Office, BLIND MULES-FICTION OR FACT?, and The Weakest Link, a paper based on Michael Levine’s presentation before the Defense Intelligence College, Southern Command, analyzing the devastating effect of unqualified management in law enforcement and military on public safety. 

While still serving as a DEA supervisory agent in 1988, Mr. Levine was the subject of A Random House/Times Books biography, Undercover, by Donald Goddard Mr. Levine has been a consultant and on-air expert for in excess of one hundred radio and television shows, including 60 Minutes, CNN, Crier Report, MSNBC, CBS News & Morning Show, ABC’s Nightline, Crossfire, Macneil Lehrer News Hour, and CBS. He also appeared on The History Channel’s "20th Century", Geraldo, Eye on America, Like It Is (Gil Noble), Dick Cavett, Inside Edition (Bill O’Reilly), Sony Pictures, Spelling Productions, Contrapunto (Spanish language version of Crossfire) and more. Mr. Levine is also the host of New York City’s “The Expert Witness Radio Show,” featuring interviews with top international law enforcement and legal experts covering all the areas of Mr. Levine’s expertise. 

View Michael Levine's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Ron Martinelli, PhD, CMI-V, is a nationally renowned Forensic Criminologist and a federal/state courts qualified law enforcement and premises liability expert who is also a Certified Medical Investigator (physician's level) and a Certified Suicide Investigator. 

Dr. Martinelli directs the nation's only Forensic Death Investigations & Independent Review Team of 26 law enforcement, forensic and medical experts and specializes in officer-involved death cases, civilian self-defense shooting cases and premises liability/security cases. He is a forensic/law enforcement expert to the U.S. Department of Justice, several State Attorney Generals' Offices, numerous major municipalities and nationally prominent private law firms specializing in wrongful death, civil rights and premises liability. 

Dr. Martinelli is the prevailing expert in over 90% of his retained cases. He has saved defendants over $600M and earned plaintiffs over $280 million in jury verdicts and settlements since 2004. He is the media's go-to forensic expert for FOX News, One America News Network, CNN, HLN, Sky News, BBC, NPR, and the History & Discovery Channels. Dr. Martinelli is skilled in officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, crime scene reconstruction, forensics, applied sciences, human factors, psycho-medical emergencies and premises liability and security cases. His unique and extensive field experience, combined his academic and scientific credentials, excellent written reports and persuasive testimony, make him a very appealing expert to attorneys and juries alike.

Areas of Expertise:

• Arrests
• Search & Seizure
• Use of Force / Excessive Force - All Levels and Weaponry
• Officer Involved Shootings(OIS)
• In-Custody Deaths
• Criminal Investigations
• Law Enforcement & Corrections Practices, Training & Supervision
• Adult & Juvenile Corrections
• Law Enforcement Negligence
• Civilian Self-Defense, Premises Liability, Security, Foreseeable Harm
• Insurance Cases
• Human Factors

Donald L. Leach, II, is a Jail / Corrections Management expert with over 30 years of experience. Mr. Leach has 20 years of consulting experience on jail management issues nationally, focusing on Risk Management for Jails and Jail Operational Methodology. His clients have included the Department of Justice, Ministry of Justice, The Netherlands, National Institute of Corrections, American Jail Association, Voorhis-­-Robertson Justice Services, among others. 

Mr. Leach has extensive supervisory experience, having overseen up to 402 employees (indirectly). He also supervised internal affairs investigations, experienced in interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, motivating, evaluating, and dismissing personnel. He is experienced in administering and managing a large detention facility, developing and administering programs, budgeting, contract development and monitoring, conducting research, monitoring compliance with policies and procedures, community relations, public speaking, controlling costs, problem-solving, and preparing reports. 

Consulting Services:

• On-site Facility Evaluation of Jail Management Systems and Classification Systems
• Data and Information Systems Analysis
• Developing / Enhancing Jail Classification Programs

Mr. Leach also provides Training Seminars in developing and implementing jail classification systems and risk management methodologies. Training topics include:

• Objective Jail Classification
• "Objective Reasonableness" in Jail Use of Force
• Managing Inmate Behavior in Jails
• Managing Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Intersex Inmates
• Reasonable Management of Suicide in Jails
• Reasonable Use of Restraints in Jails and Prisons

View Donald Leach's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Randall Atlas AIA , CPP is a Registered Architect, NCARB certified, and he practices Criminal Justice Architecture and Environmental Security Design. Atlas is a certified protection professional (CPP) with the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS), and is an appointed member of the ASIS Security Architecture and Engineering Committee. Atlas has his doctorate in criminology and a masters of architecture. Dr Atlas is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture for Justice Committee.

Dr. Atlas has taught CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) and criminal justice courses at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Miami, Keiser University, and he is a trainer with the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville. Dr. Atlas has been a technical Assistance consultant with the National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, and the Florida Department of Corrections and U.S. HUD Drug Elimination CPTED Program.

He has conducted ADA accessibility compliance audits for private and public sector clients, and served as an expert witness on over 200 premises liability lawsuits.

Dr. Atlas has been a speaker and trainer at security conferences from New Delhi, India to Seattle, Washington and has written over 200 articles in various publications on security, safety, and counter terrorism issues.

Aragon National, Inc.'s consulting extends to complex decision-making processes within Law Enforcement and Military Operations, and Health Analytics, and related Social Determinates (systems approach/ complexity / wicked problem approach). Aragon explores the link between visualizing intelligence, giving it meaning (sensemaking), critical thinking, insight generation, and decision-making.

Areas of Expertise:

Dr. John R. Black, President, has over 30 years of experience including International Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR), DoD Joint Technology Research Evaluation and Development, and the extraction of practical insight from Intelligence in support of Strategic Decision-making. He regularly speaks to police leadership, investigators, lawyers, and organizations about the process of inquiry, biases, and sensemaking.

Dr. Black (ret) has over 23 years of experience in law enforcement operations, including patrol, corrections, investigations, training, and command, combined with over 30 years with U.S. Army Special Operations and Peacekeeping (Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations.

View Dr. John R. Black's Expert Witness Profile.

AGR Police Practice Group provides robust professional Policing Services to a mix of criminal justice entities and communities. AGR counsels and collaborates with organization leadership on risk management strategies, setting the highest Law Enforcement Performance Standards. They have the proven professional law enforcement experience.to achieve case-specific goals. 

Consulting Services:

• Organizational Assessments - Policy Model Review & Future Impact

Create sound and robust policies and practices for police leadership to advance a department’s ability to deliver the highest quality services to the community. AGR has experience with single – agency police implementation and reviewing national police organization model policies. 

• High-Risk Investigations - Independent Monitoring. Oversight. Auditing

Has a crisis, such as a police shooting or police misconduct, resulted in the loss of community trust and placed the agency on the defensive? AGR has broad experience in assisting agencies in complex and sensitive investigations.

• Auditing and Inspections - Enhance Accountability, Reduce Liability, Improve Compliance

Ensuring your police agency is doing what they say they are doing, by providing auditing and inspection services.

Chief Chet Epperson, (Ret.), MBA, principal of AGR, is a law enforcement veteran with over 40 years of active service. He served with the Rockford Illinois Police Department for 33 years and the last 10 years as chief. Chief Epperson serves as an expert with two Federal Police Consent Decree Monitoring Teams with special emphasis on use of force, police shootings, training, and policy oversight.

View Chief Epperson's Expert Witness Profile.

Paul M. Adler, DO, FACEP, MBA, Medical Director for the Ventura County, California, Department of Corrections, has worked in Correctional / Jail / Prison Medicine & COVID-19 Preparation & Response. He has overseen the care of inmates in Jails in California and New York, as well as Prison inmates who have been transferred to county facilities to serve their terms for years in county jails in California. He has also overseen Correctional health car in locked units in Hospitals . 

Dr. Adler is the President-Elect of The American Correctional Health Services Association of California / Nevada, which represents all clinicians and administrators in Jails/Prisons in California and Nevada. He previously oversaw a County Hospital, County Nursing Home and ran a County Health Department and oversaw Correctional healthcare for the Westchester, New York Jail.

Litigation Support - Dr. Adler has defended Jails and Prisons in Southern California, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. He is currently the expert consultant to the California Prison System for Covid litigation and the medical consultant to the judicial consent decree overseeing care in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. He also served as the expert consultant to the ACLU for Covid in the Illinois Department of Corrections

Dr. Adler still works as a full-time practicing physician and has helped attorneys and insurance companies in Emergency Medicine, Nursing Home Medicine, Public Health and Hospital Administration since 1985. He has been involved in Plaintiff litigation in many states including against Rikers Island, NY and Cook County Jail and is available to review and consult on clinical Correctional/Jail/Prison cases for attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Services:

• COVID-19 Preparation & Response
• Medical Oversight of Federal Consent Decrees
• Screen Cases for Merit
• Review, Analyze and interpret Medical Records
• Provide Basic or Comprehensive Written Reports
• Interpret Standards of Care, Deviation and Adherences as they Relate to Correctional Health Care
• Develop Chronological Time Lines
• Policy and Procedure Development