Terms of Service

Last updated: October 3, 2026

These Terms of Service govern access to https://carltonresearch.com/ and related pages and tools operated by Carlton Research, LLC, including the Coercive Control Observatory and the Evidence Vault at evidence.carltonresearch.com (together, the Site). Use of the Site means you accept these Terms.

What the Site is

The Site describes Carlton Research, forensic services, and research instruments. Site content is informational. Site content is not legal advice, is not a clinical evaluation, and does not create an attorney-client, therapist-patient, or expert-engagement relationship by itself.

Forensic services

Consults, case-material review, written analysis, and testimony happen only under a separate written engagement with Carlton Research, LLC. Until those terms are signed, Carlton Research has no duty to review a file or to appear as an expert. Carlton Research does not perform clinical evaluations, does not recommend custody or parenting time, does not engage in victim advocacy work, and does not treat patients. Engaged work produces coercive control pattern analysis a court or other factfinder can test, on the terms of that engagement.

Instruments and tools

Public instruments on the Site, including the Coercive Control Observatory and related research aids, support literature-tied inquiry. Naming a described behavior does not establish a legal finding of a pattern of coercive control. You remain responsible for how you use Site materials in any matter.

Evidence Vault

The Evidence Vault is browser-based software available at evidence.carltonresearch.com. It requires no download or installation. The Evidence Vault is the separate property of Carlton Research, LLC, and no ownership interest in the software transfers to you through purchase or use.

Access to the Evidence Vault is a one-time purchase and is not a subscription. Access is provided according to the tier purchased: the Individual tier ($295) covers one case, and the Professional tier ($2,359) covers ten cases. Greater capacity is available only by written request.

You retain ownership of all documents and other content you upload. You control access to your vault through a password you create. Carlton Research, LLC has no access to the contents of your vault and cannot recover a lost password.

You are solely responsible for the content you upload, including having the right to upload it, and for how you use any report the Evidence Vault produces, including any decision to submit material to a court.

Evidence Vault reports require review by a qualified expert before they are submitted as evidence in any court proceeding. If you submit an Evidence Vault report to a court without expert review, you assume all responsibility for the report and its contents.

The Evidence Vault does not provide legal advice. Carlton Research, LLC makes no representation or guarantee regarding the outcome of any court proceeding or other matter.

Payments are non-refundable unless a report contains a clear error, a technical problem with the system prevents use of the Evidence Vault, or the purchased report or materials are not delivered. Refund requests may be sent to carisa@carltonresearch.com, and Carlton Research, LLC will work to resolve the issue. API credit purchases are governed by section 5.6 of the Agent API Use Terms and not by this paragraph.

Carlton Research, LLC deletes any account that has no activity for one year. API accounts are governed by section 4.7 of the Agent API Use Terms, under which an API account with no activity for 365 days is deleted after warning emails sent 30 days and 7 days before deletion, and any unused API credits are forfeited when the account is deleted.

Storage password

Your Evidence Vault account and your storage password are separate. Your account is how you sign in, and it holds your purchase and your cases. An Individual account includes one case. A Professional account allows up to ten cases open at one time.

Before any document is saved, you choose a storage password. Your browser locks the document with that password before it is stored. Carlton Research, LLC never receives your storage password, cannot open your locked documents, and cannot reset the password.

If you lose your storage password

You keep your account and your cases, and you can still sign in. However, documents already locked with the lost password cannot be opened by you or by Carlton Research, LLC. To continue, delete those locked copies, choose a new storage password, and upload your documents again. Your original documents remain on your own phone or computer; the Evidence Vault holds only a locked copy.

Losing your storage password does not cancel your purchase and does not require a new account.

Intellectual property

The Site, its content, and Carlton Research products, including the Coercive Control Observatory and related research instruments, belong to Carlton Research, LLC or its licensors. You may view the Site for personal or professional reference. You may not copy, scrape, republish, resell, or build derivative products from Site content or proprietary tools for commercial distribution without prior written permission from Carlton Research, LLC.

Acceptable use

Do not misuse the Site, attempt unauthorized access, interfere with Site operation, or use the Site to harass, defraud, or break the law. Do not send unlawful or infringing material through any contact channel.

No warranties

The Site is provided as is and as available. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Carlton Research disclaims warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Carlton Research does not warrant uninterrupted operation, error-free pages, or freedom from harmful components.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Carlton Research, LLC and its officers, members, and agents are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits or data, arising from use of the Site. Any liability tied to Site use is limited to fifty U.S. dollars (USD $50) or the amount you paid Carlton Research for Site access in the twelve months before the claim, whichever is greater. Signed forensic engagements are governed by those engagement terms, not by this Site cap.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Carlton Research, LLC and its officers, members, and agents from claims arising from your misuse of the Site or your breach of these Terms.

Third-party links and tools

The Site may link to third-party sites or rely on third-party analytics or hosting. Carlton Research is not responsible for third-party content, practices, or availability.

Changes

Carlton Research may update these Terms. The Last updated date will change when that happens. Continued use of the Site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Courts located in California have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from Site use, except where a signed engagement states otherwise.

Contact

Carlton Research, LLC
Email: carisa@carltonresearch.com
Website: https://carltonresearch.com/