Publications

• Exploring Costs and Challenges of Immigrant Detention ang 287(G) Contracts in the Southeastern United States

Clinical Ethics Consultant Expert Witness

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Jonathan D. Craig-Mendes, JD, DMSc(c), MBA, HEC-C, is a fellowship-trained and ASBH-certified Clinical Ethics Consultant currently practicing in Phoenix, AZ. Mr. Craig-Mendes' experience as a Clinical Ethics practitioner has seen his involvement in thousands of ethically-complex patient cases, addressing issues across the gamut of medical and social patient presentations. Mr. Craig-Mendes is frequently consulted to offer recommendations on the ethical appropriateness of treatment plans. He additionally becomes involved in cases where patients lack surrogate decision-makers, especially when this fact leaves hospitals and medical providers with no choice but to make decisions on behalf of the patient with little guidance on the patient's healthcare desires. Prior to his full-time work as a solo-practitioner Clinical Ethicist, Mr. Craig-Mendes attended specialized Post-Doctoral Fellowship training in the practice of clinical ethics consultation, which he completed at Wellstar Health System in 2025. Numbering among the most consult-heavy institutions in the U.S. for ethics consultation work, Mr. Craig-Mendes' experience at Wellstar was invaluable in shaping his sense of professionalism, role and scope of practice, and his obligations as an ethicist. Among the professional clinical ethics community, in-hospital fellowship training is considered to be the “gold standard” means of acquiring expertise in the unique discipline of bedside ethics practice. This is because mere academic study of bioethical principles and theory (which still remains a core component of ethics fellowship education) often fails to translate neatly into the complicated landscape of actual clinical practice. It is estimated that less than 20 individuals graduate from such programs across the entire United States each year, and Mr. Craig-Mendes numbers among them. Clinical Ethics is not a matter of opinion, and Mr. Craig-Mendes is well prepared to educate lay audiences--judges and juries--on the unique facets of this work. There is a complex tapestry of accepted medical standards, academic output on niche issues, and case review/quality improvement work that informs the ever-evolving practice of bedside clinical ethics. One attempt at establishing baseline competence in this profession, the HEC-C credential (a certification attempting to establish a knowledge "floor" for ethics consultants prior to in-hospital practice), attempts to acknowledge this growing canon of clinical ethics literature via their continual adjustment/improvement on the substance of the exam. Ethics can seem tricky and hard to pin-down, yet clarity is possible to achieve--and it can be a deciding element in cases of alleged provider wrongdoing. Mr. Craig-Mendes' practice explaining these intricacies to ill patients and contentious families has prepared him well for deposition and trial. If you feel your case would benefit from this perspective, do not hesitate to reach out to begin a conversation.