Faculty

Thomas D. Lyon

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

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Email: tlyon@law.usc.edu
Telephone: (213) 740-0142
Fax: (213) 740-5502
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Room: 408
Personal Website: Link
SSRN Author Page: Link

Download vCard
Download Curriculum Vitae

---

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 oversees the USC Child Interviewing Lab and Mobile Center which focuses on the maltreatment of children and identifies ways of encouraging children to provide truthful information about abuse, with higher accuracy and reduced trauma to the child. The Lab conducts cutting-edge research on child witness testimony and is one of the only labs in the country to conduct research and forensic interviews in this field of study.

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 60 papers in law reviews, psychology journals and books; has authored or co-authored more than 90 research presentations at psychology and law conferences; and has conducted more than 200 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 Peer-reviewed Journals

• 59. Stolzenberg, S. N, McWilliams, K., & Lyon, T. D. (in press). "Ask Versus Tell: Potential Confusion When Child Witnesses are Questioned about Conversations." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.

• 58. Ahern, E. C., Stolzenberg, S. N., McWilliams, K., & Lyon, T. D. (2017). "The Effects of Secret Instructions and Yes/No Questions on Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children’s Reports of a Minor Transgression." Behavioral Sciences & the Law 34, 784-802.

• 57. Stolzenberg, S. N., McWilliams, K., & Lyon, T. D. (in press). "Spatial Language, Question Type, and Young Children’s Ability to Describe Clothing: Legal and Developmental Implications." Law & Human Behavior.

• 56. Evans, A. D., Stolzenberg, S. N. , & Lyon, T. D. (2017). "Pragmatic Failure and Referential Ambiguity when Attorneys Ask Child Witnesses 'Do You Know/Remember' Questions." Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 23, 191-199.

• 55. Szojka, Z., Andrews, S. J., Lamb, M. E., Stolzenberg, S. N., & Lyon, T. D. (2017). "Challenging the Credibility of Alleged Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Scottish Courts." Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 23, 200-210.

View More »

B. Publications in Law Reviews

• 10. Lawrence, J. A., Levin, D. B., Brady, K. L., Jhai, M. & Lyon, T. D., (2015). "Ohio v. Clark: Brief of Amicus Curiae American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in Support of Petitioner." Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 21, 365–373.

• 9. Lyon, T. D., & Stolzenberg, S. N. (2014). "Children's Memory for Conversations about Sexual Abuse: Legal and Psychological Implications." Roger Williams University Law Review, 19, 411-450. (Symposium: Child Witnesses in Sexual Abuse Cases).

• 8. Lyon, T. D., & Dente J. A. (2012). "Child Witnesses and the Confrontation Clause." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 102, 1181-1232.

• 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.

• 6. Lyon, T. D. (2002). "Applying Suggestibility Research to the Real World: The Case of Repeated Questions." Law & Contemporary Problems, 65, 97-126.

View More »

C. Publications in Books

• 18. Saywitz, K. J., Lyon, T. D., & Goodman, G. S. (in press). "When Interviewing Children: A Review and Update." In J. Conte & B. Klika (Eds.), APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (4th ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

• 17. Lyon, T. D. (2016). "Investigative Interviewing of the Child." In D. N. Duquette, A. H. Haralambie, & V. S. Sankaran (Eds.), Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases (3rd ed., pp. 87-113). Denver, CO: Bradford.

• 16. Lyon, T. D. (2013). "Child Witnesses and Imagination: Lying, Hypothetical Reasoning, and Referential Ambiguity." In M. Taylor (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the Development of Imagination (pp. 126-136). New York, NY: Oxford.

• 15. Lyon, T. D. (2011). "Assessing the Competency of Child Witnesses: Best Practice Informed by Psychology and Law." In M. Lamb, D. La Rooy, L. Malloy, & C. Katz (Eds.), Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice (pp. 69-85). Sussex, England: Wiley-Blackwell.

• 14. Lyon, T. D. (2010). "Investigative Interviewing of the Child." In D. N. Duquette & A. M. Haralambie (Eds.), Child Welfare Law and Practice (2nd ed., pp. 87-109). Denver, CO: Bradford.

View More »

D. Contribution to Amicus Briefs

• 5. Lyon, T. D. (2014). "American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in Support of Petitioner, Ohio v. Clark (merits)."

• 4. Lyon, T. D. (2014). "American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children in Support of Petitioner, Ohio v. Clark (petition for cert.)."

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

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

• 1. Lyon, T. D. (2003). "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."

E. Practitioner Guides

• 6. Lyon, T. D. (2005). Ten Step Investigative Interview. [Spanish version]., revised (2013).

• 5. Ahern, E. C., & Lyon, T. D. (2011). Supplemental Investigative Interview Questions.

• 4. Lyon, T. D. (2007). Interviewing Children: Getting More With Less. [Powerpoint notes pages] (DVD).

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

• 2. Lyon, T. D. (2005) Ten Step Investigative Interview.

View More »

F. Short Pieces

• 12. Lamb, M. E., Hershkowitz, I., & Lyon, T. D. (2013). Interviewing Victims and Suspected Victims Who are Reluctant to Talk. APSAC Advisor, 25 (4), 16-19.

• 11. Lyon, T. D. (2012). Twenty-Five Years of Interviewing Research and Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, and the Dynamics of Abuse Disclosure. APSAC (American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children) Advisor, 24 (1-2), 14-19.

• 10. Lyon, T. D. (2009).  Witnesses, Children As Legal. In R. Shweder, T. Bidell, A. Dailey, S. Dixon, P. Miller, & J. Modell (Eds.), The child: An Encyclopedic Companion (pp. 1036-1039). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

• 9. Lyon, T. D., Lamb, M. E., & Myers, J. E. B. (2009). [Legal and psychological support for the NICHD interviewing protocol] Author’s response to Vieth (2008). Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 71-74.

• 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.

View More »

G. Book Reviews

• 1. Lyon, T. D. (1996). "The Law and Psychology of the Child Witness." Review of the book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices in the American Legal System, by L. S. McGough. Contemporary Psychology, 41, 701-702.

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

The Undefeated
April 19, 2018
Re: USC Gould School of Law

Thomas Lenz was quoted on how the NFL's refusal to hire quarterback Colin Kaepernick, as well as safety Eric Reid may bolster Kaepernick's case against the NFL for conspiring to keep him out of the league because of his political views. “To the extent that someone else has some parallel activity, some similar involvement, it certainly cast suspicion [on what’s occurring in the NFL]," said Lenz. “It’s the sort of thing that, as the facts bear out, you have to wonder if there’s some sort of pattern going on. … It definitely warrants some inquiry.”

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

Robert K. Rasmussen
January, 2018

"Puerto Rico and the Netherworld of Sovereign Debt Restructuring," Workshop, Duke Law School, Durham, NC. 

Edward Kleinbard
January, 2018

"The Right Tax at the Right Time," Florida Tax Review 21 (2017): 208.

Edward Kleinbard
January, 2018

“The Perversion of the Tax Policy Process,” Keynote Address at the USC Tax Institute, Los Angeles, CA.