[BIO AND PHOTO APPEAR BELOW]
Today, there are 1,000,000 gang members in the United States. They are individuals, they are active, and males and females comprise their ranks. The U.S. Army currently has 1.5 million trained and battle-ready soldiers. According to the FBI, gangs are increasing in number in and among the U.S. armed forces. There are currently some 8,000 gang members in the armed forces of the United States, the majority being in the Army. Gang presence in the country's military forces is a fact. The FBI says that every gang in the U.S. is represented in the military, the difference being in size and number. Do you think gangs in the military have the same sense of patriotism and national security as do their non-gang counterparts? Gang presence in the military compromises the honor of the armed services and weakens the nation's defense. Said another way, should the Statue of Liberty shed a tear and look upon gangs in the military with shame and revulsion? What about us? What should our response be?
The FBI says that Al-Qaeda is viewing gangs in the U.S. military with deep interest. Why? Because a gangsta' (the street term) fulfills al-Qaeda's four-point profile criteria: (1) the gangsta has deep feelings of alienation and anger, usually due to not having or knowing his father; (2) the gangsta yearns for a sense of achievement to fulfill his feelings of emptiness; (3) the gangsta longs for a father-figure from whom he can take orders--the direction he missed in his childhood years; and (4) the gangsta wants to be well-paid (money) so he can show off his bling (ostentatious jewelry), as proof, reward and recognition of his achievement. Al-Qaeda identifies with the gangsta's mindset and respects it as being of value and equivalent to the A-Qaeda mind. The gangsta and Al-Qaeda operate on the same paradigm. Al-Qaeda has no shortage of money to substitute for the gangsta's unquenchable thirst for adoration, respect, kudos, and self-fulfillment.
I have done work for military defense lawyers (Judge Advocates General) at West Point Military Academy and in the United States Navy. But if gangs are growing in number and, presumably, in strength in the nation's military and in communities across the country, why is a Gang Expert needed to assist lawyers in trials involving alleged gangs? Isn't a duck a duck no matter whatever else you call it? According to the reasoning of many people, including court jurors and military prosecutors, isn't the fact that gangs are growing enough reason to try and convict an alleged gang member standing trial in criminal court or facing adjudication in juvenile court?
Alleged gang members, as do we all, have the inalienable right to a full and fair court trial. That is a legal hallmark that separates and distinguishes United States courts from the guilty-until-proven-innocent paradigm on which courts in most of the world's countries operate. Following are just some of the reasons Criminal Defense Attorneys need a Gang Expert to help them to achieve their client-objectives in court.
1. Police often "mis-hear" and "re-translate" what a gang suspect tells them about his or her affiliation: The common testimony police officers make in court is "I made a consensual contact with Joe Gangster and he said he's a member of XYZ gang." Defendants frequently tell me that they were either pressured by the arresting officer to admit being in the gang or they admitted growing up with known gangbangers and going to school with them--and that's all. A Gang Expert, through skillful interviewing of neighbors, school administrators, and employers, can verify or refute purported affiliations. Often, a Gang Expert is very knowledgeable about the gang in question, as well as familiar with its members, as well as thoroughly knowledgeable about its rivals.
2. Police often testify that "common knowledge" is what confirms their suspicion about and allegation that a defendant is a gang member and the crime for which he is being tried was done specifically at the behest of the gang, to enhance the gang's stature, and inspire fear in and exercise control over the community. A Gang Expert can aid the Criminal Defense Attorney by analyzing police documentation of the gang's past violations and, specifically, noting whether or not the defendant has been named in any incident reports or cited in Field Interview Cards (F.I.C.s). I had a gang case, in Sacramento Superior Court, where the police officer stated he never profiled my client, a female defendant, but that he "could have." The prosecutor argued with me that "could have" was enough proof that my client was in fact a gang member and her having GSR (gunshot residue) on her hand was further proof that the act she was alleged to have committed was done for the benefit of her gang.
I responded that "could have" was so far removed from the criteria the Sacramento Police Department uses to profile gang members, that it cast reasonable doubt as to whether the officer had sufficient training and even suggested his own confusion. I further stated that against Sacramento Police Department's eleven-point criteria for profiling a gang member, the police officer failed to testify as to which criteria, exactly, framed his sophomoric "I could have profiled her, if I'd wanted to." I told the prosecutor the police officer had not finished his job. "I could have profiled her" is a defective testimony and only suggested the officer's dereliction of duty. The judge threw the case out of court and released my client with no prison term or probation.
3. Some police officers magnify their gang expertise to show their "best side" to the jury, having already won the prosecutor's heart (most prosecutors use only police officers as their gang experts--could this be because (a) police officers have a natural prosecutorial bias? or (b) police officers and prosecutors are paid out of the same county budget, their checks signed by the same budget chief?). In a court in which I frequently work, a police officer identified himself as "Head of the Black Gang Unit." The court reporter dutifully typed this into the transcript. In a conference with the attorney representing our client, I complained that such identification would prejudice the jury toward guilt. I explained that the jury would see an African-American police officer introduce himself as "Head of the Black Gang Unit" and then proceed to state how he happened to arrest the African-American defendant, my client. The jury would subconsciously figure who better to know an African-American defendant on trial than an African-American police officer? Reasonable doubt would go out the window and the jury's view of my client would be tainted.
Further, I explained, such an introduction as the officer used begs the question about his competence and qualifications. If he is the head of the "African-American Gang Unit," what would happen to his job if the police department experienced budget declines? Would he be laid off or terminated because of a decision that he could work only with or among African Americans rather than as an equal opportunity, full-service police officer able to serve the entirety of the city? Moreover, I pointed out, such an introduction of himself as "Head of the Black Gang Unit" is a racist statement that ought to have been protested just as the Italian-American community protested the use of "Cosa Nostra" during the Senate Racketeering Hearings on Organized Crime during which Mafia lieutenant Joe Valachi "sang like a canary," according to the attorney general."Cosa Nostra" is a term no longer allowed in a court of law. Likewise, since there are other ethnicity-based gangs as well as multi-racial lawbreakers, "Head of the Gang Unit" should have been what the officer said, not "Head of the Black Gang Unit."
I have just touched on a mere few areas in which I can materially help an attorney defending a client on gang-allegation charges. There are many other ways in which I can aid and abet an attorney's client-objectives, as well as reasons for employing me as a Gang Expert. In addition to providing court testimony throughout the United States, I consult with attorneys, in both the Civil and Criminal bars, provide litigation support, and write preliminary as well as full and complete case opinions. Using my expertise can result in an efficient, economical, and easy strategy for winning your client's case. Gangs are growing throughout the country and in the military. Therefore, those of us in the defense bar need to increase our defensive and Constitutional strategies, in order to address the increasing vulnerability of juries to prosecutors' arguments about gangs, their growth and our defendants' alleged roles in both. No matter the growth on the "gang tree" the nation's prosecutors hold up to jurors, my objective in court is to separate and distinguish my gang-alleged clients from allegations that they are branches on that tree. I am grateful and honored for my success in helping attorneys achieve their Constitutional goals for clients.
I can be reached at 310-678-6950 or courtexpert@gmail.com. I look forward to working with you to help you achieve your case objectives.
My Blog List
Showing posts with label adult gangs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adult gangs. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My Resume
James E. Shaw, Ph.D.
Criminal and Civil Court-Certified Expert: Litigation Support and Trial Testimony
Gangs; School Safety; Youth Violence; Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Protocols
(310) 678-6950 (cell.); (310) 649-5118 (fax). Email: courtexpert@gmail.com. Website: http://expertincourt.blogspot.com. Commentator for NBC, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC, and author of the nationally-acclaimed book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill (peer-reviewed by RAND Corporation), and the forthcoming book, GANGrene: Lost Souls Poisoning Homeland Security
Federal Appointment: Dr. Shaw is on the Faculty of the United States Courts Office of Defender Services Training Branch.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the Oversight Committee of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD).
Dr. Shaw is a 2009 Graduate of the Los Angeles Police Department Community Policing Academy.
Dr. Shaw is a member on the Panel of Experts of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Criminal Division, Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Dr. Shaw holds the State of California License No. 030129796: Pupil Counseling, Grades K through 12.
Under Williams v. State of California, Dr. Shaw, as one of the California State Legislature-appointed Professional Team Leaders, went into public schools to ensure school administrator-compliance with the stipulations and terms (re school safety, teacher certification, and sufficient textbooks/curricular materials) of the massive and historic class action litigation affecting the CA’s 58 counties.
Dr. Shaw served as Director of Child Welfare for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, and as Prosecutor in the Norwalk Superior Court’s Truancy Court.
Dr. Shaw served on the Multi-Agency Task Consortium Against Gangs.
Dr. Shaw served as a member of the Child Death Review Committee of the Los Angeles County Interagency Council Against Abuse and Neglect (I.C.A.N.).
For many years Dr. Shaw, through the Los Angeles County Office of Education, was a Consultant-Trainer on “Child Abuse Mandated Reporting Requirements”, and trained the county’s 81 school districts on mandated reporting materials provided by the State Attorney.
Dr. Shaw, as an invited keynote speaker, addressed the audience and media at the Columbine High School memorial ceremony in honor of the slain victims.
Dr. Shaw was the keynote speaker at the annual, nationally-renowned St. Mary’s Medical Center’s Child Abuse Conference, in Walla Walla, Washington.
During his four-year in-person/in-prison research on children who killed, Dr. Shaw coined the term “adolescentcide” (the phenomenon of children killing children) used by the media following the Columbine High School and other campus tragedies.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the California State Sheriff’s Education Association.
Dr. Shaw, for a number of years, taught the law course, Administration of Justice: Juvenile Delinquency and Legal Procedures, at the El Camino Police Academy.
Dr. Shaw is the author of the copyrighted “Homicidally-at-Risk Adolescent Profile,” or H.A.R.A.P., instrument used, in People v. Marcus Adams, by the Law Office of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants.
Dr. Shaw is a member of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the National Lawyers Guild.
Dr. Shaw is associate member, #00711062, of the American Bar Association.
As a Mandatory Certified Legal Education (MCLE) Trainer, Dr. Shaw conducts accredited continuing education seminars for lawyers.
A PARTIAL LIST OF CASES, INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVING JUVENILE AND ADULT GANGS, FOR WHICH DR. SHAW WAS DESIGNATED COURT EXPERT:
FEDERAL
• United States Immigration Court v. Carlos Ayala. (Gang activity and Street Terrorism: Injunction to deport) [For Attorney Dana Mendelson.]
• United States v. Arceneaux (Gang-Heist Bank Robbery) [Federal Court case; for Attorney T.E. Warriner.]
MILITARY
• In re United States Military Academy, West Point. (the “Del Rey Eleven” case: Assault and GBI/Gang Enhancement/FirearmsViolations) [For Captain Jessica Conn, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.]
• In re United States Navy. (Court Martial: Gang-related Weapons incident) [For Judge Advocate General Ryan Torgrison.]
STATE
• People v. Grays, Reese, and Williams. (Shooting into Occupied Building/Gang Enhancement) [For Law Office of the Sacramento County Public Defender; Ryan Jay, Esq.]
• People v. Charlotte Woods. (Gang Allegation) [For Romina Aghai, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Yovany Pensado (Robbery & Assault With Deadly Weapon/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Fred Ricco McCurry, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Nicholas Real. (Gang Enhancement Allegation) [For Sef Krell, Esq., and Alex Kessel, Esq.] Bar Panel case.
• People v. Jerron Harris. (Felon Carrying Weapon/Gang Allegation) [For Lucia Gonzalez, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Gilberto Martinez (Attempted Murder/Spec Alleg Gang Enhancemt) [For County of Sacramento Office of the Pub Def; David Lynch, Esq.]
• People v. Johnnie Davis. (Home Invasion/Gang Terrorism) [For Kern County, Bakersfield Public Defender; Mark Raimondo, Esq.]
• People v. Antonio Webster. (Attempted Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For County of Los Angeles, Office of the Public Defender; Pamela L. Jones, Esq.]
• People v. Rodrigo Bernal. (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Munoz. (Weapons Violation/Gang Allegation) [For Jorge Guzman, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People. V. Gray, Williams & Reese (Gang & Street Terrorism Allegation) [For Ryan Jay, Esq., County of Sacramento Public Defender.]
• People v. Robert Gaylord (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Yajahira Martinez, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Christian Rodriguez (Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Denise Bousley, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Stefan Taylor (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Kenneth Harris (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles county Public Defender.]
• People v. Rodney Morris (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Luis Pineda. (Armed robbery/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Val Rada, Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Durrell Davon Melchor. (ADW W/Firearm on Peace Officer) [For Attorney Frank Di Sabatino, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Phillip Masters. (Assault with deadly weapon/GBI/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Dane Cameron, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jason Pezant. (Possession of Firearm by Felon/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Mark Williams, Bar Panel]
• People v. Delatorre. (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Ana Elmi, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender]
• People v. Charkhian. (Terrorist threat-to-kill/“Third Strike” Predicate Act for Gang Enhancement; [For Attorney Allison Margolin.]
• In re Alfredo M. (Street Terrorism/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Tracy Tully-Davis.]
DEATH PENALTY and/or LIFE W/O PAROLE CASES
• The People of the State of California v. Marcus Adams (Uzi Assault Triple Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Patrick Thomason, Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender.]
• The People of the State of California v. Santiago Martinez. (Double Murder) [For Defender Martinez, acting In Pro Per.]
• People of the State of California v. Cesario Vasquez. (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour I. Amster. Bar Panel]
• People v. Roderick Milner (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Stanley Z. White, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jimmy Hunter. (Double Murder) [County of Ventura Office of the Public Defender; Joe Villasana, Esq.]
• People v. Gabriel Arceo. (Triple Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Charles Patton, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jamal Payne, Jerry Sorrels, Damon Garrett, & Roderick Jenkins. (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For John Blanchard, Esq., Bar Panel.]
• People v. Richard Tovalin. (Attempted Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour Amster, Bar Panel]
• People of the State of California v. David Mariscal (Gang-related Murder) [For Attorney Craig Wormley.]
• People of the State of California v. Gonzalez (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour Amster, Bar Panel]
• People v. Quincy Edward Giles. (Attempted Double Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Frederick Lacey, Law Offices of the Alternate Public Defender.]
• People v. William Joseph (Gang-related Shooting/Attempted Murder) [For County of Los Angeles Office of the Public Defender; Kendi Ravsten, Esq.]
• People of the State of California v.Robert Masiel III. (Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Karen Lockhart.]
• People v. Francisco Orozco. (Attempted Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Art Goldberg, Bar Panel.]
CIVIL
• Jane C.R. Doe v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange, et al. (Sexual Assault and Battery; Negligent Hiring/Retention; Negligent Supervision/Failure to Warn) [For Manly, McGuire & Stewart Law.
• Murray & Cox v. Egremont Schools. (Sexual Assault and Battery; Negligent Hiring/Retention; Negligent Supervision/Failure to Warn) [For Kessel & Associates Law Group.]
• Catherine Porter-Luttrell v. Ojai Unified School District. (Teacher’s use, in her 5th-grade class, of obscene, lewd and lascivious adult-level book; Negligent Supervision) [For Jones & Briggs Law.]
• Del Cid v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Assault and Personal Injury/Gang-Related) [For Attorney Brian Vogel.]
• State of Nevada v. Paul Anthony Rice. (Gang homicide) [For Attorney Kyle Swanson.]
• Robert and Diane Roy for Travis Roy v. Murrietta Valley School District. (Wrongful death) [For Attorney Daral Mazzarrella.]
• Sismilich v. Academy of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Girls School. (Teacher’s unlawful sex with minor) [For Gordon & Rees Law Group; Linda Mullany, Esq.]
• Williams v. California Department of Education. (Civil Rights/Equality in Education) Professional Expert/Team Leader for: State of California, California Department of Education, and Los Angeles County Office of Education.
• Anise Arteaga v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Assault and Personal Injury). [For Attorney Joseph Avrahamy.]
• “Marie S.” v. Alameda Unified School District, et al. (Administrator Assault on Student and Personal Injury) [For Attorney Trudy L. Martin.]
• Corales v. Bennett. (Middle School Student Suicide) [For Attorney Jacqueline De Warr.]
• Jackson v. Conga Room (Gang-related Homicide) [For Attorney Gary Jacobs.]
• In Re a Minor v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Gang-related Homicide) [For McNicholas and McNicholas Law Group; Juan Victoria, Esq.]
• Campolini v. Ventura Unified School District (Assault and Personal Injury) [For Attorney James Prosser.]
• In re Assault and Personal Injury v. Hayward Unified School District (Gang-related Assault and Personal Injury) [For Attorney Robert Abel.]
• In re Bonfire Injuries v. Fault & Yeates; TX A & M, Et Al (Non-assault/Personal Injury) [For Attorney Marty Rogers.]
• Carpenter (for Pierce) v. Tumwater School District, et al. (Assault and Rape) [For then-Attorney General of Washington: Christine Gregoire, Tort Claims Div.]
• Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, Henderson v. Smith, et al (Student assault/Personal Injury) [For Attorney James Marino.]
• Rubideaux v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Student Non-Assault Personal Injury) [For Carlson, Messer, & Turner Law Group; Edgar De Vera, Esq.]
• Bryant v. Willard (Juvenile Homicide/Gang & Drug Event) [For Attorney James Lozinski.]
• Martinez v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Student Assault/Gang-related) [For Attorney Andrew Ellis.]
• Plumlee v. Fullerton Joint Union High School District (Student Assault/Personal Injury [For Attorney James Rainboldt.]
• Yvonne and Gregory Smith (for Isiah Smith) v. San Juan Unified School District. (Child Abuse; Negligent Supervision; Failure to Report as Mandated) [For Kahn, Brown & Poore Law.]
• Royce Volkmann v. Capistrano Unified School District (Assault and GBI) [For Attorney Mitchell Stein.]
• Lester v. Department of Health and Human Resources(State of V. Virginia) (Assault and personal injury) [For Attorney Keith Gamble.]
• Tapia v. City of San Rafael. (Assault and traumatic personal injury at high school) [For Attorney Liza de Vries.]
• Gibson v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Child Molestation) [For Carlson, Messer & Turner Law Group; Jeanne Zimmer, Esq.]
• Cindy Perez v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Sexual Assault and Battery) [For Attorney Thomas Edward Wall.]
• Molina v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Sexual Assault on campus) [For Carpenter and Zuckerman Law Group; Michael Stone-Molloy, Esq.]
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Nationwide Book and Media Tour, Jodi Solomon Speakers Bureau, Boston, MA. As a result of the research for and publication of my book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill, I appeared repeatedly as guest educator and school safety/youth crime/child abuse expert on NBC’s “The Today Show,” CBS’s “Eye Witness News,” “CBS Utah,” CNN’s “Talk Back With Bobbi Battista,” MSNBC’s “Live With Mitch Albom,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” FOX News, “The O’Reilly Factor,” and other television and radio media outlets. Delivered keynote addresses at national conferences comprising judges, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, educators, psychologists, sociologists, the clergy, and politicians. At the request of states’ elected representatives, I consulted on and assisted in the design of violence education-and-prevention and school safety programs. B.R.A.V.E. (“Be Resilient Avoid Violence Everywhere”), my violence education-and-prevention curriculum, was written during this time at the suggestion of a Wasatch County, Utah high school principal. B.R.A.V.E. has been reviewed and cited by the FBI/ATF Philadelphia Regional Office. At the invitation of Littleton, Colorado parents, I delivered one of the keynote addresses at the first annual commemoration ceremony, in Littleton, Colorado, in honor of the slain victims of the Columbine High School massacre. (A copy of my speech is available upon request.) July 2000 to October 2005.
Teacher, Los Padrinos Juvenile Court School, operated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Taught high school-level subjects, per State Department of Education curriculum frameworks. Counseled gang members and other incarcerated juveniles on court etiquette, legal language, probation behavioral standards, administration of justice and juvenile delinquency; goals/visions/values; and legal, personal and social responsibility. Served as Los Angeles County’s “Dollars for Scholars” board member and fundraiser for scholarship awards to juvenile wards desiring to improve their lives. Served as the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Los Angeles County Probation Department liaison for the LEAPS (Life Excellerator Assessment of Personal Skills) Facilities-Wide Behavior Management Program. Served as vice chairperson of the Los Padrinos Shared Decision Making Council. Served as academic coach in the annual “Academic Bowl” fete. October 2005 to present.
While studying for CLAD (Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development) certification, and in a nod toward linguist Jim Cummins’ “cognitive academic language proficiency” theory of academic success, I coined the phrase, “symptomatically-compromised academic language deficiency” (SCALD), and wrote a paper describing this linguistic phenomenon and cause of school failure among LEP (Limited English Proficient) street gang members. Symptomatically-compromised language deficiency results from everything that is dysfunctional, unhealthy, and legally-encroaching in their lives: e.g., family members incarcerated, witnessing or engaging in violent gang acts, illegal drug use.
Gang Consultant and Media Expert for the made-for-television documentary, “Homegirls,” produced by Luis Colina and Father Gregory Boyle (The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and founder of “Homeboy Ministries.” Ongoing/in-progress.
Instructor, Master’s Degree Program, the University of Phoenix. Courses: Child and Adolescent Development and Teacher-training courses. July 2003 to present.
Instructor, Police Sciences Curriculum, El Camino Police Academy (operated by El Camino Community College), Torrance, CA. Course: Administration of Justice: Juvenile Delinquency and Legal Procedures. February 2002 to present.
Director, Pupil Personnel Services, Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District
(24,000 students – 31 schools.) and Director, Student Attendance Review Board (S.A.R.B.) No. 21, at the Norwalk Superior Court. Prosecuted, for the L.A. County District Attorney, parents and children in violation of school attendance laws. Designed and co-conducted, with Sheriff Dept., “Stop-Crimes-on-Campus” programs: Drug-Dog Sniffing Program; Juvenile Citation-into-Court Program (for gang activity, graffiti-tagging, vandalism, fighting, alcohol possession, profanity, drug possession and use); and specialized gang diversion programs such as G.R.I.P., “Gang Reduction Intervention Program” and the “Gang Awareness Project” (G.A.P.), both of which were coordinated with local law enforcement. July 1999 – July 2000.
Consultant, Public School Law, L.A. County Office of Education. Advisor to 81 school districts on L. A. County, state laws pertaining to child welfare and school attendance, student violence, suspensions and expulsions, gang activity/violence and parents’ roles and responsibilities. At request of retired Supervisor Deane Dana, I helped to write the L.A. County” Anti-Truancy Ordinance, No 96-0009.” September 1996 – June 1999.
Consultant, GAIN (Greater Avenues for Independence) Welfare-to-Work Program, L.A. County Office of Education. Supervised four Job Developers and 80 Job Search Specialists in the development of employer requirements, employment preparation, job market surveying, personal skills inventorying, job readiness, and personal responsibility courses; case follow-up and evaluation. September 1995 – September 1996.
Producer, Educational Television. Los Angeles County Office of Education. Produced focused programs: gang awareness and education; interviews with the State of CA Superintendent of Schools; curriculum series involving Institutes of Higher Education (IHE’s): USC, Claremont Graduate University, and UCLA; and a widely-acclaimed special program I conceived, produced and hosted following the 1992 Los Angeles riot: “Let’s Not Experience it Again.” January 1991 to September 1995.
EDUCATION
Dr. James E. Shaw earned his Ph.D. degree (focus: Curriculum) from the Claremont Graduate University and received the Phi Delta Kappa (Mt. Baldy Chapter) "Best Dissertation of the Year" award for his pioneering study of a spectrum of children—including gang members—incarcerated in state prisons for murder and homicide. His 4-year in-person/in-prison research of 103 girls and boys was the subject of his doctoral dissertation. (1993 – 1997.)
The University of Southern California, Teacher Corps Cycle VII. Two-year graduate studies program focused on Troubled Youth/Gangs. Studies included classes and programs at the Delinquency Prevention Institute. Los Angeles, CA. Master of Science in Education (MSEd) Degree: 1972-1974.
California State University at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. B.A. Degree: 1965 -1972.
PROPRIETARY PUBLICATIONS and INVOLVEMENT WITH OTHERS
Ph.D. Dissertation: Maturity and Choice in Adolescents Incarcerated for Murder and Homicide (Ann Arbor; University Microfilms; 1997)
Jack & Jill, Why They Kill (Seattle; Onjinjinkta Publishing Co., 2000)
Bully-Proofing Your Child (eBook, published in 2001).
B.R.A.V.E. (Be Resilient Avoid Violence Everywhere). Field-tested (2001-2002, CA) by Downey Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS). B.R.A.V.E. has been cited by the FBI/ATF Philadelphia Region as an example of “best community practices” for its violence education and prevention curriculum for grades 6 – 12.
Los Angeles County Anti-Truancy Ordinance (Public Law No. 96-0009, co-written in 1995, with other educators and lawyers, at request of then-County Supervisor Deane Dana).
Los Angeles County Master Plan for School Safety (1998; Co-Editor).
Advisor on the Los Angeles County Office of Education and California State Department of Education “Classroom Management Guide” (2000).
Advisor on the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors manual, “Helping Improve Police Practices” (H.I.P.P.). A guide on improving relationships between law enforcement and students, particularly student gang members.
“Prosecutors as Persecutors: Can an Expert Save Justice?” (first published by T.A.B., Technical Assistance Bureau for attorneys).
“Evaluating Your Witness and Witnessing Their Value.” Article for National Defender Investigator Association’s Eagle Eye magazine.
“In Loco Parentis: the Hot Stock Du Jour.” This article first appeared at www.Calif-Legal.com, and was the subject of my interview with editor Andrew Brownstein of TRIAL magazine (published by American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America).
“Expert Witnesses May Find Schools Hazardous to a Child’s Health.” Article for Consumer Attorneys of California Forum magazine.
“Drop the Fiction of Safe Schools,” published by the Los Angeles Times.
“The Cruel Arithmetic of Adolescentcide,” published by the Long Beach Press Telegram.
“Armed School Police Don’t Equal Safer Schools,” published by the Los Angeles
Times.
“Kids Killing Kids,” the Boca Raton (FL) Times.
HONORS, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
“Certificate of Recognition” from the California State Legislature, for book: Jack and Jill, Why They Kill
Letter of gratitude and congratulations from President George W. Bush for book: Jack and Jill, Why They Kill.
The Neil Matsumora Scholarship, University of Southern California
The Phi Delta Kappa, Mt. Baldy Chapter, “Best (Doctoral) Dissertation of the Year” Award for four-year in-prison/in-person research on children who killed.
President-Elect of the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance (CASCWA)
Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
The California Teachers Association (CTA)
Member of the American Society of Trial Consultants
Member of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Associate Member of the American Bar Association
CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Board member of G.O.O.D. (“Gangs Out of Downey”) Organization. Other G.O.O.D. members with whom I worked include Judge Roy Paul, Judge David Perkins, Judge A. Lord, and Judge Manuel Rodriguez.
Member of the Multi-Agency Task Force on Gangs, Norwalk, CA.
Rotary International District No. 1774
AFFILIATIONS WITH EXPERT WITNESS REFERRAL ORGANIZATIONS
• Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys (T.A.S.A.)
• Technical Assistance Bureau (T.A.B.)
• ExpertWitness.com
• eWitness.com
• California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• Experts.com
• Forensis Group
• Expert Resources, Inc.
• National Expert Witness Network
• Summit Professional Resources
• Forensic Expert Advisors
• Consolidated Consultants Company
• The Chatham Group
• DJS Associates, Inc.
OTHER INFORMATION
Dr. Shaw began studying the social phenomenon of troubled, bad-ass and criminal youth while a graduate student (1972-1974) in the nationally-acclaimed Urban Teacher Corps VII program at the University of Southern California. His training at USC’s Delinquency Prevention Institute led to further gang education training by (1) the Department of Justice (at the L.A. County Office of Education and Inglewood USD “Gang Summit”); (2) the Norwalk Sheriff Department’s Multi-Agency Task Force on Gangs; (3) the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy; (4) the Gang Awareness Project (GAP); (5) the Gang Risk Intervention Program (GRIP); (6) Juvenile Delinquency Summits conducted by California State Senator Betty Karnette (Long Beach); and (7) professional conferences across the nation hosted by law enforcement agencies and educators.
Dr. James E. Shaw is considered one of the nation's foremost gang, troubled youth, school safety and youth violence experts, and is still a regular guest expert on television and radio (Good Morning, America; NBC Today Show; O’Reilly Factor; MSNBC Live; CBS EyeWitness News; ABC News; CNN; and Associated Press Radio). He is quoted by a range of publications, from TRIAL magazine to the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post Media Group to the Baca Raton Times to the Atlanta Journal Constitution to the Long Beach Press Telegram to the Sacramento Bee Newspaper to Seventeen Magazine. He spent 48 months inside California Youth Authority state youth prisons interviewing and studying 103 girls and boys, among them gang members, incarcerated for committing murder and homicide.
The only researcher in the country allowed to go inside prisons and behind bars to get the life stories of a spectrum of children who killed, Dr. Shaw wrote the landmark, nationally-acclaimed book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill, as a result of his four-year study. Referred to on CNN as the "the smart answer for today's troubled times," Jack and Jill, Why They Kill has a wide readership among school administrators, teachers, social workers, attorneys, law enforcement officers, districts attorney, probation officers, members of the clergy, psychologists, medical doctors, judges, colleges and universities, and students themselves. The book is used in colleges and universities nationwide. Dr. Shaw coined the word “adolescentcide,” meaning children who kill other children. He has presented gang awareness and school safety programs for the California Attorney General, elected officials, law enforcement associations, and school administrators nationwide.
SOME WRITTEN COMMENTS ABOUT Dr. Shaw’s Jack & Jill, Why They Kill
Reviewer: The Honorable Lee Baca, Sheriff, Los Angeles County
“No public safety policy maker can afford to overlook this common sense uncovering of the cause, terror, and nature of this human tragedy.”
Reviewer: The Honorable Nancy D. Daniels, Referee, Los Angeles Superior Court
“Jack & Jill, Why They Kill should be in the maternity packet of expectant and adoptive parents and on the desk of every school teacher, child welfare worker and juvenile court judge.”
Reviewer: The Honorable Pamela Davis, Judge, Santa Monica Superior Court
“Bravo, Dr. Shaw, for a finely-crafted book that will inspire parents and may yet save the lives of countless children!”
Criminal and Civil Court-Certified Expert: Litigation Support and Trial Testimony
Gangs; School Safety; Youth Violence; Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Protocols
(310) 678-6950 (cell.); (310) 649-5118 (fax). Email: courtexpert@gmail.com. Website: http://expertincourt.blogspot.com. Commentator for NBC, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC, and author of the nationally-acclaimed book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill (peer-reviewed by RAND Corporation), and the forthcoming book, GANGrene: Lost Souls Poisoning Homeland Security
Federal Appointment: Dr. Shaw is on the Faculty of the United States Courts Office of Defender Services Training Branch.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the Oversight Committee of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD).
Dr. Shaw is a 2009 Graduate of the Los Angeles Police Department Community Policing Academy.
Dr. Shaw is a member on the Panel of Experts of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Criminal Division, Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Dr. Shaw holds the State of California License No. 030129796: Pupil Counseling, Grades K through 12.
Under Williams v. State of California, Dr. Shaw, as one of the California State Legislature-appointed Professional Team Leaders, went into public schools to ensure school administrator-compliance with the stipulations and terms (re school safety, teacher certification, and sufficient textbooks/curricular materials) of the massive and historic class action litigation affecting the CA’s 58 counties.
Dr. Shaw served as Director of Child Welfare for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, and as Prosecutor in the Norwalk Superior Court’s Truancy Court.
Dr. Shaw served on the Multi-Agency Task Consortium Against Gangs.
Dr. Shaw served as a member of the Child Death Review Committee of the Los Angeles County Interagency Council Against Abuse and Neglect (I.C.A.N.).
For many years Dr. Shaw, through the Los Angeles County Office of Education, was a Consultant-Trainer on “Child Abuse Mandated Reporting Requirements”, and trained the county’s 81 school districts on mandated reporting materials provided by the State Attorney.
Dr. Shaw, as an invited keynote speaker, addressed the audience and media at the Columbine High School memorial ceremony in honor of the slain victims.
Dr. Shaw was the keynote speaker at the annual, nationally-renowned St. Mary’s Medical Center’s Child Abuse Conference, in Walla Walla, Washington.
During his four-year in-person/in-prison research on children who killed, Dr. Shaw coined the term “adolescentcide” (the phenomenon of children killing children) used by the media following the Columbine High School and other campus tragedies.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the California State Sheriff’s Education Association.
Dr. Shaw, for a number of years, taught the law course, Administration of Justice: Juvenile Delinquency and Legal Procedures, at the El Camino Police Academy.
Dr. Shaw is the author of the copyrighted “Homicidally-at-Risk Adolescent Profile,” or H.A.R.A.P., instrument used, in People v. Marcus Adams, by the Law Office of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants.
Dr. Shaw is a member of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
Dr. Shaw is a member of the National Lawyers Guild.
Dr. Shaw is associate member, #00711062, of the American Bar Association.
As a Mandatory Certified Legal Education (MCLE) Trainer, Dr. Shaw conducts accredited continuing education seminars for lawyers.
A PARTIAL LIST OF CASES, INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVING JUVENILE AND ADULT GANGS, FOR WHICH DR. SHAW WAS DESIGNATED COURT EXPERT:
FEDERAL
• United States Immigration Court v. Carlos Ayala. (Gang activity and Street Terrorism: Injunction to deport) [For Attorney Dana Mendelson.]
• United States v. Arceneaux (Gang-Heist Bank Robbery) [Federal Court case; for Attorney T.E. Warriner.]
MILITARY
• In re United States Military Academy, West Point. (the “Del Rey Eleven” case: Assault and GBI/Gang Enhancement/FirearmsViolations) [For Captain Jessica Conn, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.]
• In re United States Navy. (Court Martial: Gang-related Weapons incident) [For Judge Advocate General Ryan Torgrison.]
STATE
• People v. Grays, Reese, and Williams. (Shooting into Occupied Building/Gang Enhancement) [For Law Office of the Sacramento County Public Defender; Ryan Jay, Esq.]
• People v. Charlotte Woods. (Gang Allegation) [For Romina Aghai, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Yovany Pensado (Robbery & Assault With Deadly Weapon/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Fred Ricco McCurry, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Nicholas Real. (Gang Enhancement Allegation) [For Sef Krell, Esq., and Alex Kessel, Esq.] Bar Panel case.
• People v. Jerron Harris. (Felon Carrying Weapon/Gang Allegation) [For Lucia Gonzalez, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Gilberto Martinez (Attempted Murder/Spec Alleg Gang Enhancemt) [For County of Sacramento Office of the Pub Def; David Lynch, Esq.]
• People v. Johnnie Davis. (Home Invasion/Gang Terrorism) [For Kern County, Bakersfield Public Defender; Mark Raimondo, Esq.]
• People v. Antonio Webster. (Attempted Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For County of Los Angeles, Office of the Public Defender; Pamela L. Jones, Esq.]
• People v. Rodrigo Bernal. (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Munoz. (Weapons Violation/Gang Allegation) [For Jorge Guzman, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People. V. Gray, Williams & Reese (Gang & Street Terrorism Allegation) [For Ryan Jay, Esq., County of Sacramento Public Defender.]
• People v. Robert Gaylord (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Yajahira Martinez, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Christian Rodriguez (Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Denise Bousley, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Stefan Taylor (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Kenneth Harris (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles county Public Defender.]
• People v. Rodney Morris (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Elizabeth Hodgen, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Luis Pineda. (Armed robbery/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Val Rada, Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender.]
• People v. Durrell Davon Melchor. (ADW W/Firearm on Peace Officer) [For Attorney Frank Di Sabatino, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Phillip Masters. (Assault with deadly weapon/GBI/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Dane Cameron, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jason Pezant. (Possession of Firearm by Felon/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Mark Williams, Bar Panel]
• People v. Delatorre. (Gang Injunction Violation) [For Ana Elmi, Esq., Law Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender]
• People v. Charkhian. (Terrorist threat-to-kill/“Third Strike” Predicate Act for Gang Enhancement; [For Attorney Allison Margolin.]
• In re Alfredo M. (Street Terrorism/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Tracy Tully-Davis.]
DEATH PENALTY and/or LIFE W/O PAROLE CASES
• The People of the State of California v. Marcus Adams (Uzi Assault Triple Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Patrick Thomason, Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender.]
• The People of the State of California v. Santiago Martinez. (Double Murder) [For Defender Martinez, acting In Pro Per.]
• People of the State of California v. Cesario Vasquez. (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour I. Amster. Bar Panel]
• People v. Roderick Milner (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Stanley Z. White, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jimmy Hunter. (Double Murder) [County of Ventura Office of the Public Defender; Joe Villasana, Esq.]
• People v. Gabriel Arceo. (Triple Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Charles Patton, Bar Panel.]
• People v. Jamal Payne, Jerry Sorrels, Damon Garrett, & Roderick Jenkins. (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For John Blanchard, Esq., Bar Panel.]
• People v. Richard Tovalin. (Attempted Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour Amster, Bar Panel]
• People of the State of California v. David Mariscal (Gang-related Murder) [For Attorney Craig Wormley.]
• People of the State of California v. Gonzalez (Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Seymour Amster, Bar Panel]
• People v. Quincy Edward Giles. (Attempted Double Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Frederick Lacey, Law Offices of the Alternate Public Defender.]
• People v. William Joseph (Gang-related Shooting/Attempted Murder) [For County of Los Angeles Office of the Public Defender; Kendi Ravsten, Esq.]
• People of the State of California v.Robert Masiel III. (Murder/Gang Enhancement) [For Attorney Karen Lockhart.]
• People v. Francisco Orozco. (Attempted Murder/Gang Allegation) [For Attorney Art Goldberg, Bar Panel.]
CIVIL
• Jane C.R. Doe v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange, et al. (Sexual Assault and Battery; Negligent Hiring/Retention; Negligent Supervision/Failure to Warn) [For Manly, McGuire & Stewart Law.
• Murray & Cox v. Egremont Schools. (Sexual Assault and Battery; Negligent Hiring/Retention; Negligent Supervision/Failure to Warn) [For Kessel & Associates Law Group.]
• Catherine Porter-Luttrell v. Ojai Unified School District. (Teacher’s use, in her 5th-grade class, of obscene, lewd and lascivious adult-level book; Negligent Supervision) [For Jones & Briggs Law.]
• Del Cid v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Assault and Personal Injury/Gang-Related) [For Attorney Brian Vogel.]
• State of Nevada v. Paul Anthony Rice. (Gang homicide) [For Attorney Kyle Swanson.]
• Robert and Diane Roy for Travis Roy v. Murrietta Valley School District. (Wrongful death) [For Attorney Daral Mazzarrella.]
• Sismilich v. Academy of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Girls School. (Teacher’s unlawful sex with minor) [For Gordon & Rees Law Group; Linda Mullany, Esq.]
• Williams v. California Department of Education. (Civil Rights/Equality in Education) Professional Expert/Team Leader for: State of California, California Department of Education, and Los Angeles County Office of Education.
• Anise Arteaga v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Assault and Personal Injury). [For Attorney Joseph Avrahamy.]
• “Marie S.” v. Alameda Unified School District, et al. (Administrator Assault on Student and Personal Injury) [For Attorney Trudy L. Martin.]
• Corales v. Bennett. (Middle School Student Suicide) [For Attorney Jacqueline De Warr.]
• Jackson v. Conga Room (Gang-related Homicide) [For Attorney Gary Jacobs.]
• In Re a Minor v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Gang-related Homicide) [For McNicholas and McNicholas Law Group; Juan Victoria, Esq.]
• Campolini v. Ventura Unified School District (Assault and Personal Injury) [For Attorney James Prosser.]
• In re Assault and Personal Injury v. Hayward Unified School District (Gang-related Assault and Personal Injury) [For Attorney Robert Abel.]
• In re Bonfire Injuries v. Fault & Yeates; TX A & M, Et Al (Non-assault/Personal Injury) [For Attorney Marty Rogers.]
• Carpenter (for Pierce) v. Tumwater School District, et al. (Assault and Rape) [For then-Attorney General of Washington: Christine Gregoire, Tort Claims Div.]
• Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, Henderson v. Smith, et al (Student assault/Personal Injury) [For Attorney James Marino.]
• Rubideaux v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Student Non-Assault Personal Injury) [For Carlson, Messer, & Turner Law Group; Edgar De Vera, Esq.]
• Bryant v. Willard (Juvenile Homicide/Gang & Drug Event) [For Attorney James Lozinski.]
• Martinez v. Los Angeles Unified School District (Student Assault/Gang-related) [For Attorney Andrew Ellis.]
• Plumlee v. Fullerton Joint Union High School District (Student Assault/Personal Injury [For Attorney James Rainboldt.]
• Yvonne and Gregory Smith (for Isiah Smith) v. San Juan Unified School District. (Child Abuse; Negligent Supervision; Failure to Report as Mandated) [For Kahn, Brown & Poore Law.]
• Royce Volkmann v. Capistrano Unified School District (Assault and GBI) [For Attorney Mitchell Stein.]
• Lester v. Department of Health and Human Resources(State of V. Virginia) (Assault and personal injury) [For Attorney Keith Gamble.]
• Tapia v. City of San Rafael. (Assault and traumatic personal injury at high school) [For Attorney Liza de Vries.]
• Gibson v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Child Molestation) [For Carlson, Messer & Turner Law Group; Jeanne Zimmer, Esq.]
• Cindy Perez v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Sexual Assault and Battery) [For Attorney Thomas Edward Wall.]
• Molina v. Los Angeles Unified School District. (Sexual Assault on campus) [For Carpenter and Zuckerman Law Group; Michael Stone-Molloy, Esq.]
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Nationwide Book and Media Tour, Jodi Solomon Speakers Bureau, Boston, MA. As a result of the research for and publication of my book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill, I appeared repeatedly as guest educator and school safety/youth crime/child abuse expert on NBC’s “The Today Show,” CBS’s “Eye Witness News,” “CBS Utah,” CNN’s “Talk Back With Bobbi Battista,” MSNBC’s “Live With Mitch Albom,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” FOX News, “The O’Reilly Factor,” and other television and radio media outlets. Delivered keynote addresses at national conferences comprising judges, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, educators, psychologists, sociologists, the clergy, and politicians. At the request of states’ elected representatives, I consulted on and assisted in the design of violence education-and-prevention and school safety programs. B.R.A.V.E. (“Be Resilient Avoid Violence Everywhere”), my violence education-and-prevention curriculum, was written during this time at the suggestion of a Wasatch County, Utah high school principal. B.R.A.V.E. has been reviewed and cited by the FBI/ATF Philadelphia Regional Office. At the invitation of Littleton, Colorado parents, I delivered one of the keynote addresses at the first annual commemoration ceremony, in Littleton, Colorado, in honor of the slain victims of the Columbine High School massacre. (A copy of my speech is available upon request.) July 2000 to October 2005.
Teacher, Los Padrinos Juvenile Court School, operated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Taught high school-level subjects, per State Department of Education curriculum frameworks. Counseled gang members and other incarcerated juveniles on court etiquette, legal language, probation behavioral standards, administration of justice and juvenile delinquency; goals/visions/values; and legal, personal and social responsibility. Served as Los Angeles County’s “Dollars for Scholars” board member and fundraiser for scholarship awards to juvenile wards desiring to improve their lives. Served as the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Los Angeles County Probation Department liaison for the LEAPS (Life Excellerator Assessment of Personal Skills) Facilities-Wide Behavior Management Program. Served as vice chairperson of the Los Padrinos Shared Decision Making Council. Served as academic coach in the annual “Academic Bowl” fete. October 2005 to present.
While studying for CLAD (Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development) certification, and in a nod toward linguist Jim Cummins’ “cognitive academic language proficiency” theory of academic success, I coined the phrase, “symptomatically-compromised academic language deficiency” (SCALD), and wrote a paper describing this linguistic phenomenon and cause of school failure among LEP (Limited English Proficient) street gang members. Symptomatically-compromised language deficiency results from everything that is dysfunctional, unhealthy, and legally-encroaching in their lives: e.g., family members incarcerated, witnessing or engaging in violent gang acts, illegal drug use.
Gang Consultant and Media Expert for the made-for-television documentary, “Homegirls,” produced by Luis Colina and Father Gregory Boyle (The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and founder of “Homeboy Ministries.” Ongoing/in-progress.
Instructor, Master’s Degree Program, the University of Phoenix. Courses: Child and Adolescent Development and Teacher-training courses. July 2003 to present.
Instructor, Police Sciences Curriculum, El Camino Police Academy (operated by El Camino Community College), Torrance, CA. Course: Administration of Justice: Juvenile Delinquency and Legal Procedures. February 2002 to present.
Director, Pupil Personnel Services, Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District
(24,000 students – 31 schools.) and Director, Student Attendance Review Board (S.A.R.B.) No. 21, at the Norwalk Superior Court. Prosecuted, for the L.A. County District Attorney, parents and children in violation of school attendance laws. Designed and co-conducted, with Sheriff Dept., “Stop-Crimes-on-Campus” programs: Drug-Dog Sniffing Program; Juvenile Citation-into-Court Program (for gang activity, graffiti-tagging, vandalism, fighting, alcohol possession, profanity, drug possession and use); and specialized gang diversion programs such as G.R.I.P., “Gang Reduction Intervention Program” and the “Gang Awareness Project” (G.A.P.), both of which were coordinated with local law enforcement. July 1999 – July 2000.
Consultant, Public School Law, L.A. County Office of Education. Advisor to 81 school districts on L. A. County, state laws pertaining to child welfare and school attendance, student violence, suspensions and expulsions, gang activity/violence and parents’ roles and responsibilities. At request of retired Supervisor Deane Dana, I helped to write the L.A. County” Anti-Truancy Ordinance, No 96-0009.” September 1996 – June 1999.
Consultant, GAIN (Greater Avenues for Independence) Welfare-to-Work Program, L.A. County Office of Education. Supervised four Job Developers and 80 Job Search Specialists in the development of employer requirements, employment preparation, job market surveying, personal skills inventorying, job readiness, and personal responsibility courses; case follow-up and evaluation. September 1995 – September 1996.
Producer, Educational Television. Los Angeles County Office of Education. Produced focused programs: gang awareness and education; interviews with the State of CA Superintendent of Schools; curriculum series involving Institutes of Higher Education (IHE’s): USC, Claremont Graduate University, and UCLA; and a widely-acclaimed special program I conceived, produced and hosted following the 1992 Los Angeles riot: “Let’s Not Experience it Again.” January 1991 to September 1995.
EDUCATION
Dr. James E. Shaw earned his Ph.D. degree (focus: Curriculum) from the Claremont Graduate University and received the Phi Delta Kappa (Mt. Baldy Chapter) "Best Dissertation of the Year" award for his pioneering study of a spectrum of children—including gang members—incarcerated in state prisons for murder and homicide. His 4-year in-person/in-prison research of 103 girls and boys was the subject of his doctoral dissertation. (1993 – 1997.)
The University of Southern California, Teacher Corps Cycle VII. Two-year graduate studies program focused on Troubled Youth/Gangs. Studies included classes and programs at the Delinquency Prevention Institute. Los Angeles, CA. Master of Science in Education (MSEd) Degree: 1972-1974.
California State University at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. B.A. Degree: 1965 -1972.
PROPRIETARY PUBLICATIONS and INVOLVEMENT WITH OTHERS
Ph.D. Dissertation: Maturity and Choice in Adolescents Incarcerated for Murder and Homicide (Ann Arbor; University Microfilms; 1997)
Jack & Jill, Why They Kill (Seattle; Onjinjinkta Publishing Co., 2000)
Bully-Proofing Your Child (eBook, published in 2001).
B.R.A.V.E. (Be Resilient Avoid Violence Everywhere). Field-tested (2001-2002, CA) by Downey Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS). B.R.A.V.E. has been cited by the FBI/ATF Philadelphia Region as an example of “best community practices” for its violence education and prevention curriculum for grades 6 – 12.
Los Angeles County Anti-Truancy Ordinance (Public Law No. 96-0009, co-written in 1995, with other educators and lawyers, at request of then-County Supervisor Deane Dana).
Los Angeles County Master Plan for School Safety (1998; Co-Editor).
Advisor on the Los Angeles County Office of Education and California State Department of Education “Classroom Management Guide” (2000).
Advisor on the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors manual, “Helping Improve Police Practices” (H.I.P.P.). A guide on improving relationships between law enforcement and students, particularly student gang members.
“Prosecutors as Persecutors: Can an Expert Save Justice?” (first published by T.A.B., Technical Assistance Bureau for attorneys).
“Evaluating Your Witness and Witnessing Their Value.” Article for National Defender Investigator Association’s Eagle Eye magazine.
“In Loco Parentis: the Hot Stock Du Jour.” This article first appeared at www.Calif-Legal.com, and was the subject of my interview with editor Andrew Brownstein of TRIAL magazine (published by American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America).
“Expert Witnesses May Find Schools Hazardous to a Child’s Health.” Article for Consumer Attorneys of California Forum magazine.
“Drop the Fiction of Safe Schools,” published by the Los Angeles Times.
“The Cruel Arithmetic of Adolescentcide,” published by the Long Beach Press Telegram.
“Armed School Police Don’t Equal Safer Schools,” published by the Los Angeles
Times.
“Kids Killing Kids,” the Boca Raton (FL) Times.
HONORS, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
“Certificate of Recognition” from the California State Legislature, for book: Jack and Jill, Why They Kill
Letter of gratitude and congratulations from President George W. Bush for book: Jack and Jill, Why They Kill.
The Neil Matsumora Scholarship, University of Southern California
The Phi Delta Kappa, Mt. Baldy Chapter, “Best (Doctoral) Dissertation of the Year” Award for four-year in-prison/in-person research on children who killed.
President-Elect of the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance (CASCWA)
Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
The California Teachers Association (CTA)
Member of the American Society of Trial Consultants
Member of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Associate Member of the American Bar Association
CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Board member of G.O.O.D. (“Gangs Out of Downey”) Organization. Other G.O.O.D. members with whom I worked include Judge Roy Paul, Judge David Perkins, Judge A. Lord, and Judge Manuel Rodriguez.
Member of the Multi-Agency Task Force on Gangs, Norwalk, CA.
Rotary International District No. 1774
AFFILIATIONS WITH EXPERT WITNESS REFERRAL ORGANIZATIONS
• Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys (T.A.S.A.)
• Technical Assistance Bureau (T.A.B.)
• ExpertWitness.com
• eWitness.com
• California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• Experts.com
• Forensis Group
• Expert Resources, Inc.
• National Expert Witness Network
• Summit Professional Resources
• Forensic Expert Advisors
• Consolidated Consultants Company
• The Chatham Group
• DJS Associates, Inc.
OTHER INFORMATION
Dr. Shaw began studying the social phenomenon of troubled, bad-ass and criminal youth while a graduate student (1972-1974) in the nationally-acclaimed Urban Teacher Corps VII program at the University of Southern California. His training at USC’s Delinquency Prevention Institute led to further gang education training by (1) the Department of Justice (at the L.A. County Office of Education and Inglewood USD “Gang Summit”); (2) the Norwalk Sheriff Department’s Multi-Agency Task Force on Gangs; (3) the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy; (4) the Gang Awareness Project (GAP); (5) the Gang Risk Intervention Program (GRIP); (6) Juvenile Delinquency Summits conducted by California State Senator Betty Karnette (Long Beach); and (7) professional conferences across the nation hosted by law enforcement agencies and educators.
Dr. James E. Shaw is considered one of the nation's foremost gang, troubled youth, school safety and youth violence experts, and is still a regular guest expert on television and radio (Good Morning, America; NBC Today Show; O’Reilly Factor; MSNBC Live; CBS EyeWitness News; ABC News; CNN; and Associated Press Radio). He is quoted by a range of publications, from TRIAL magazine to the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post Media Group to the Baca Raton Times to the Atlanta Journal Constitution to the Long Beach Press Telegram to the Sacramento Bee Newspaper to Seventeen Magazine. He spent 48 months inside California Youth Authority state youth prisons interviewing and studying 103 girls and boys, among them gang members, incarcerated for committing murder and homicide.
The only researcher in the country allowed to go inside prisons and behind bars to get the life stories of a spectrum of children who killed, Dr. Shaw wrote the landmark, nationally-acclaimed book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill, as a result of his four-year study. Referred to on CNN as the "the smart answer for today's troubled times," Jack and Jill, Why They Kill has a wide readership among school administrators, teachers, social workers, attorneys, law enforcement officers, districts attorney, probation officers, members of the clergy, psychologists, medical doctors, judges, colleges and universities, and students themselves. The book is used in colleges and universities nationwide. Dr. Shaw coined the word “adolescentcide,” meaning children who kill other children. He has presented gang awareness and school safety programs for the California Attorney General, elected officials, law enforcement associations, and school administrators nationwide.
SOME WRITTEN COMMENTS ABOUT Dr. Shaw’s Jack & Jill, Why They Kill
Reviewer: The Honorable Lee Baca, Sheriff, Los Angeles County
“No public safety policy maker can afford to overlook this common sense uncovering of the cause, terror, and nature of this human tragedy.”
Reviewer: The Honorable Nancy D. Daniels, Referee, Los Angeles Superior Court
“Jack & Jill, Why They Kill should be in the maternity packet of expectant and adoptive parents and on the desk of every school teacher, child welfare worker and juvenile court judge.”
Reviewer: The Honorable Pamela Davis, Judge, Santa Monica Superior Court
“Bravo, Dr. Shaw, for a finely-crafted book that will inspire parents and may yet save the lives of countless children!”
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