Tom Lyon

Judge Edward J. and Ruey L. Guirado Chair in Law and Psychology

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tlyon@law.usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-0142
Fax: (213) 740-5502
Room: 415
Personal Website: http://works.bepress.com/thomaslyon/

Thomas D. Lyon’s research interests include child witnesses, child maltreatment and domestic violence. He teaches courses in Evidence, Law and Psychology, and Child Interviewing.

Professor Lyon is past-president of the American Psychological Association’s Section on Child Maltreatment (Division 37) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. He has published more than 30 papers in law reviews, psychology journals and books; has authored or co-authored more than 50 research presentations at psychology and law conferences; and has conducted more than 100 trainings with judges, attorneys, law professors, social workers, psychologists and reporters. His work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Justice, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, the California Endowment, and the Haynes Foundation.

 

A magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Professor Lyon received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Stanford University. He was an attorney for the Children’s Services Division of the Los Angeles County Counsel and a research associate at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center prior to joining USC Law in 1995.

A. Publications in Law Reviews

• 7. Lyon, T.D., & LaMagna, R. (2007). The history of children's hearsay: From Old Bailey to post-Davis. Indiana Law Journal, 82, 1029-1058., published (2007)

• 6. Lyon, T.D. (2002). Applying suggestibility research to the real world: The case of repeated questions. Law & Contemporary Problems, 65, 97-126., published (2002)

• 5. Lyon, T.D. (2000). Child witnesses and the oath: empirical evidence. University of Southern California Law Review, 733,1017-1074., published (2000)

• 4. Lyon, T.D. (1999). The new wave of suggestibility research: A critique. Cornell Law Review, 84, 1004-1087., published (1999)

• 3. Lyon, T.D., & Koehler, J.J. (1996). The relevance ratio: Evaluating the probative value of expert testimony in child sexual abuse cases. Cornell Law Review, 82, 43-78., published (1996)

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B. Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals

• 20. Carrick, N., Quas, J.A., & Lyon, T.D. (in press.) Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children's Evaluations of Emotional Fantasy. Child Abuse & Neglect., posted (2009)

• 19. Lyon, T.D., Carrick, N., & Quas, J.A. (in press). Young children's competency to take the oath: Effects of task, maltreatment, and age. Law & Human Behavior., Posted (2009)

• 18. Evans, A.D., Lee, K., & Lyon, T.D. (in press). Complex questions asked by defense lawyers but not prosecutors predicts convictions in child abuse trials. Law & Human Behavior., Published (2008)

• 17. Quas, J.A., Wallin, A.R., Horwitz, B., Davis, E., & Lyon, T.D. (2009). Maltreated children's understanding of and emotional reactions to dependency court involvement. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 27, 97-117., Posted (2008)

• 16. Lyon, T.D., Malloy, L.C., Quas, J.A., & Talwar, V. (2008). Coaching, truth Induction, and young maltreated children's false allegations and false denials. Child Development, 79, 914-929., published (2008)

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C. Publications in Books

• 11. Lyon, T.D. (in press). Abuse disclosure: What adults can tell. In Bottoms, B. L., Goodman, G. S., & Najdowski, C. J. (Eds.). Child victims, child offenders: Psychology and law. New York: Guilford., (in press) (2008)

• 10. Lyon, T.D. (2007). False denials: Overcoming methodological biases in abuse disclosure research. In M.E. Pipe, M. E. Lamb, Y. Orbach, and A.C. Cederborg (Eds.), Disclosing abuse: Delays, denials, retractions and incomplete accounts (pp. 41-62). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum., published (2007)

• 9. Lyon, T.D., & Mechanic, M.D. (2006). Domestic violence and child protection: Confronting the dilemmas in moving from family court to dependency court. In N.E. Dowd, D.G. Singer, & R.F. Wilson (Eds.), Handbook of children, culture, and violence (pp. 21-38). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage., published (2006)

• 8. Lyon, T.D. (2005). Speaking with children: Advice from investigative interviewers In P.F. Talley (Ed.), Handbook for the treatment of abused and neglected children (pp. 65-82). Binghamton, NY: Haworth. (reprinted in Lyon, T.D. (2005). Child development, competence, and credibility: The latest research. In A.G. Donnelly (Ed.), State of the Art Advocacy for Children, Youth, and Families (pp. 29-44). Denver, CO: National Association of Counsel for Children.), published (2005)

• 7. Lyon, T.D. (2002). Expert testimony on the suggestibility of children: Does it fit? In Bottoms, B.L., Kovera, M.B., & McAuliff, B.D. (Eds.), Children, social science, and the law (pp. 378-411). New York: Cambridge., published (2002)

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D. Contribution to Amicus Briefs

• 3. National Association of Counsel for Children and American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in Support of Respondent, Giles v. California (2008) (2008)

• 2. National Association of Counsel for Children in Support of Respondents. Adrian Martell Davis v. Washington, Hershel Hammon v. Indiana (2007)., published (2007)

• 1. American Psychological Association, National Association of Counsel for Children, American Professional Society on the Abuse of CHildren, and California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in Support of Respondent. Marion R. Stogner v. California (2003)., published (2003)

E. Practitioner Guides

• 4. Lyon, T.D. (2007). Interviewing Children: Getting more with less (Powerpoint notes pages). Professionals who interview children can obtain a free copy of the dvd from lcoleman@law.usc.edu., posted (2009)

• 3. Lyon,T.D., & Matthews, M. (2006). Model Brief. Questioning of Child Witnesses., created (2006)

• 2. Lyon, T.D. (2005) Ten step investigative interview., created (2005)

• 1. Lyon, T.D., & Saywitz, K.J. (2000). Qualifying Children to Take the Oath: Materials for Interviewing Professionals., created (2000)

F. Short Pieces

• 9. Lyon, T.D., Lamb, M.E., & Myers, J.E.B. (in press). [Legal and psychological support for the NICHD interviewing protocol.] Author’s response to Vieth (2008). Child Abuse & Neglect.posted (2009)

• 8. Lyon, T.D. (2008). The Supreme Court, hearsay, and Crawford: Implications for child interviewers. APSAC (American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children) Advisor, 20(3-4), 2-6., published (2008)

• 7. Lyon, T.D. (2004, Spring). The Supreme Court and reluctant witnesses: Crawford v. Washington. Section on Child Maltreatment Newsletter, Division 37, American Psychological Association, 9(1), 1-2., Published (2004)

• 6. Lyon, T.D. (2004, Winter). Educating the public through the Michael Jackson case. Section on Child Maltreatment Newsletter, Division 37, American Psychological Association, 8(3), 10-11., Published (2004)

• 5. Lyon, T.D. (2002, Winter). Support persons and the child witness. Section on Child Maltreatment Newsletter, Division 37, American Psychological Association, 6(3), 5., Published (2002)

• 4. Lyon, T.D. (2001, Fall). Let's not exaggerate the suggestibility of children. Court Review, 38, 12-14., published (2001)

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G. Book Reviews

• 1. Lyon, T.D. (1996). The law and psychology of the child witness. (Book review of L.S. McGough (1994). Child witnesses: Fragile voices in the American legal system). Contemporary Psychology, 41, 701-702., published (1996)

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