We provide litigation support and testifying expert witness services for large and complex school safety and security cases.
While we have other analysts who serve as testifying expert witnesses in school security litigation, our Executive Director Michael Dorn has the most substantive experience as a school safety expert witness. Michael has worked in the campus safety field full-time for more than 40 years, he has published 28 books in his field and his work has taken him to eleven countries. Michael Dorn has also provided official post-incident assistance for many school shootings, stabbings and other school and school bus violence with weapons including 23 active shooter and targeted shootings at U.S., Canadian and Mexican K12 schools.
Michael Dorn has assisted with and led school safety, security, climate, culture and emergency preparedness assessments for more than 8,500 K12 schools in the U.S., Canada, India, Kenya, South Africa, Trinidad-Tobago and Vietnam. Michael Dorn has provided assistance to numerous state and federal agencies including the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, Homeland Security, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Enforcement, United States Attorney General Janey Reno and the White House. Michael Dorn has also assisted the Ministries of Education in Trinidad-Tobago and India. Michael Dorn has provided expert witness services for attorneys representing plaintiffs, defendants, in arbitrations, state court systems, federal courts and for firms handling multi-district federal court litigation filed by 209 school districts. Complex cases involving public school systems as well as faith-based, boarding, independent and charter schools.
While highly experienced and qualified to evaluate and opine on cases for other school safety topics and major acts of violence with weapons, Michael Dorn has considerable experience providing objective, detailed and thorough evaluation, meticulously documented reports of opinions and solid sworn testimony supported by objective evidence.
Michael Dorn has particularly extensive experience with the following types of school safety cases:
- School shootings and school active shooter events.
- How popular but unsound approaches to school lockdowns and active shooter training programs can contribute to increased casualties including but not limited to Run, Hide, Fight, A.L.I.C.E.® and the Standard Response Protocol®- SRP®
- Bullying.
- Pre-employment screening to reduce the risk of workplace violence and sexual violence by employees, contractors, volunteers, and chaperones.
- Policies, procedures, training, and practices to reduce the risks of workplace violence and sexual violence of employees, contractors, volunteers, and chaperones.
- Prevention of violence and sexual violence.
- Acts of sexual violence, and child abuse.
- Cases involving death and serious injuries such as concussions alleged to have resulted from inadequate policies, practices, and student supervision.
- Security policies, procedures, training, technology, hardware, practices, and implementation.
- Emergency preparedness plans, procedures, training, drills, and exercises.
- Security and emergency preparedness hardware technology and equipment.
- Safety, security and law enforcement pre-employment screening, staffing, equipment, operations, procedures, training, and tasking.
- Policies and practices for supervision of children and youth.
- Effectiveness of diversion from arrest programs including restorative justice policies and practices.
- Prevention of violence using weapons including edged weapons, firearms, fire, explosives, vehicle ramming, chemical release or splashing attacks involving acids.
- Proper assessment and evaluation of safety, security, emergency preparedness, and behavioral prevention strategies.
- Incident reporting and investigation.
- Student threat assessment and management approaches.
- Student and employee self-harm/suicide prevention approaches.
- How school climate and culture affect school safety.
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and other school safety, security and emergency preparedness approaches related design concepts.
- Prevention and mitigation measures related to substance abuse (street drugs, prescription drugs, beverage alcohol, smoking and vaping) in the K12 setting.
- School bus shootings and edged weapons assaults
- Child molestation allegations involving school bus drivers
- How the use of emergency phone applications and other emergency communications systems can sometimes result in increased casualties.
- False claims of efficacy and failure of school security technologies, barricading devices, emergency notification systems and other locks, doors, hardware and school safety technologies.
- Litigation relating to student e-cigarette use – vaping in schools and on school buses.