You Had a Second
to Decide. He Explains It.
Direct line: (239) 571-1840 · GregoryGilbertson@proton.me
Attorney and law-firm inquiries only
Firearms · Criminal defense · Stand-your-ground · Home defense
Most self-defense casework here involves a firearm: a lawfully armed person who used or displayed it, and now has to justify a decision made in about a second. The analysis examines that moment on the record and explains it in plain language a jury can follow, measured against the same use-of-force standards applied to police officers.
Three experts. Over 110 years.
Professor Gregory Gilbertson (Ret.), FBI Special Agent Christopher Holland (Ret.), and Sheriff Robert Snaza consult with attorneys nationwide regarding police practices and procedures, use of force, false arrest, police misconduct, criminal, and self-defense casework.
CEO & OwnerThirty-eight years in four uniforms: street cop, soldier, professor, investigator. More than 220 matters in 42 states and D.C. since 2014, with testimony that has not been excluded at trial in any state or federal court.
Full biography
ConsultantMore than thirty-five years in public safety: twelve years and three terms as the elected Sheriff of Lewis County, Washington, and six years a commissioner of the state board that sets peace-officer training standards.
Full profile
ConsultantForty years of investigative casework, from patrolman in St. Louis County to the FBI in Chicago, and on to task forces in Afghanistan and Liberia. His work on the Idaho student murders is examined in Broken Plea, the New York Times bestseller by Christopher Whitcomb.
Full profileNever excluded. Professor Gilbertson’s testimony has not been excluded at trial in any state or federal court.
The Hon. Richard A. Jones United States District Judge“Mr. Gilbertson’s qualifications demonstrate extensive experience in policing. His expansive work as a police officer in Georgia, with assignments as a SWAT team officer, juvenile court investigator, school resource officer, stakeout squad officer, senior patrolman, and patrolman; then a career as a tenured college professor and university lecturer teaching criminal justice courses to degree-seeking students at colleges and universities, and as a licensed private investigator conducting felony pretrial investigations for attorneys in Washington State in dozens of criminal cases, makes him unique in the field of police expert witnesses. The Court finds that, based on his experience, Mr. Gilbertson’s testimony can be expected to have a reliable basis in knowledge and experience of police practices.”
The facts counsel cite.
- Professor Gregory Gilbertson (Ret.): thirty-eight years across policing, the Army, the classroom, and investigative casework. Independent consultants are retained case-by-case where the record calls for a second discipline.
- Retained in more than 220 civil rights and criminal cases across 42 states and the District of Columbia; expert practice since 2014.
- Professor Gilbertson’s testimony has not been excluded at trial in any state or federal court.
- Retained by plaintiff’s counsel and by the defense alike, in civil and criminal matters.
- Fees are published: a $9,000 flat fee covering discovery review and the written expert report; the full schedule is on For Retaining Counsel.
- Attorney and law-firm inquiries only; conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion. (239) 571-1840.
What the analysis covers.
Individual engagements are scoped with counsel. Go deeper: Civilian & Officer Matters · Stand-Your-Ground & Immunity · Deadly & Non-Deadly Force.
Armed self-defense
- Firearm and weapons cases
- Defensive display and discharge
- Deadly-force and non-deadly-force self-defense
- Home-defense matters
- Stand-your-ground matters
- Duty-to-retreat matters
The analysis
- Reasonable belief of imminent harm
- Necessity and proportionality of force
- Threat assessment
- Totality-of-circumstances analysis
- The same standards applied to police use of force
Case types
- Murder and attempted-murder cases involving self-defense
- Manslaughter cases
- Assault and battery cases
- Self-defense immunity hearings
- Civilian self-defense
- Police-officer self-defense
- Defense of another person
Retained by criminal defense counsel for armed citizens, and in civil matters where a defensive use of force is at issue. A police-practices background matters here: the state's own use-of-force standards are the yardstick a jury understands.
Same discipline, every case.
Conflict check and a written scope with retaining counsel before substantive discussion.
A non-refundable $9,000 flat fee covering discovery review and the written expert report.
The complete record against national standards; most reports finish within the retainer.
Deposition, hearings and trial, nationwide from RSW.
Full fee schedule and counsel FAQ: For Retaining Counsel →
Related casework.
Case accounts as published by retaining counsel. Outcomes depend on their facts; no result is promised for any other matter.
Working references for this practice area.
Guides for retaining counsel, written from the same record this analysis reads.
He explained use of force and self-defense in a manner the jury easily understood. His testimony was an integral factor in achieving a not guilty verdict.Michael A. Blanchard, Attorney at Law · New London, CT
Asked before the record is sent.
What does a self-defense opinion address?
Do these cases usually involve firearms?
Why does a police-practices expert help an armed citizen?
Does he testify for civilians as well as officers?
What does retention cost?
Send a self-defense record.
Attorney and law-firm inquiries only. Conflicts are checked before anything substantive, and you will hear about a conflict immediately.
Inquiry sent.
You will hear back directly. If the matter is urgent, call (239) 571-1840.
Conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion. Please do not send privileged material with a first inquiry; after retention the record is exchanged on physical media. Gregory consults for attorneys and their staff only, and does not provide legal advice or attorney referrals to individuals.