Thomas D. Lyon

University of Southern California Law

Judge Edward J. and Ruey L. Guirado Chair in Law and Psychology
Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Expertise

child abuse and neglect, child witnesses, and domestic violence

Honors & Awards

Past-President of the American Psychological Association’s Section on Child Maltreatment (Division 37)
Former Member of the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children

Links

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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. Southern California Law Review, 73,1017-1074., 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)

2. Lyon, T.D., Gilles, E., & Cory, L. (1996). Medical evidence of physical Abuse in Infants and Young Children, 28, 93-167., published (1996)

1. Lyon, T.D. (1987). Sexual exploitation of divorce clients: The lawyer's prerogative? Harvard Women's Law Journal, 10, 159-201., published (1987)

B. Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals

26. Lyon, T.D., Scurich, N., Choi, K., Handmaker, S., & Blank, K. (in press). “How did you feel?” Increasing child sexual abuse witnesses’ production of evaluative information. Law & Human Behavior., posted (2012)

25. Wandrey, L., Lyon, T.D., Quas, J.A., & Friedman, W.F. (in press). Maltreated children’s ability to estimate temporal location and numerosity of placement changes and court visits. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law., posted (2011)

24. Lyon, T.D., Ahern, E.C., & Scurich, N. (in press). Interviewing children vs. tossing coins: Accurately assessing the diagnosticity of children’s disclosures of abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse., posted (2011)

23. Evans, A.D., & Lyon, T.D. (in press). Assessing children’s competency to take the oath in court: The influence of question type on children’s accuracy. Law & Human Behavior., posted (2011)

22. Ahern, E. C., Lyon, T. D., & Quas, J. A. (2011). Young children’s emerging ability to make false statements. Developmental Psychology, 47, 61-66,, Posted (2010)

21. Lyon, T.D., Ahern, E.A., Malloy, L.A., & Quas, J.A. (2010). Children’s reasoning about disclosing adult transgressions: Effects of maltreatment, child age, and adult identity. Child Development, 81, 1714-1728., published (2010)

20. Carrick, N., Quas, J.A., & Lyon, T.D. (2010) Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children’s Evaluations of Emotional Fantasy. Child Abuse & Neglect. 34, 129-134., posted (2009)

19. Lyon, T.D., Carrick, N., & Quas, J.A. (2010). Young children’s competency to take the oath: Effects of task, maltreatment, and age. Law & Human Behavior, 34, 141-149., Published (2009)

18. Evans, A.D., Lee, K., & Lyon, T.D. (2009). Complex questions asked by defense lawyers but not prosecutors predicts convictions in child abuse trials. Law & Human Behavior, 33, 258-264., Posted (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)

15. Lyon, T.D., & Dorado, J.S. (2008). Truth induction in young maltreated children: The effects of oath-taking and reassurance on true and false disclosures. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 738-748., published (2008)

14. Malloy, L.C., Lyon, T.D., & Quas, J.A. (2007). Filial dependency and recantation of child sexual abuse allegations. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 162-170., published (2007)

13. Lyon, T.D., & Saywitz, K.J. (2006). From post-mortem to preventive medicine: Next steps for research on child witnesses. Journal of Social Issues, 62, 833-861., published (2006)

12. Malloy, L.C., & Lyon, T.D. (2006). Caregiver support and child sexual abuse: Why does it matter? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 15, 97-103., published (2006)

11. Chaffin, M., Hanson, R., Saunders, B. E., Nichols, T., Barnett, D., Zeanah, C. Berliner, L., Egeland, B., Newman, E., Lyon, T., Letourneau, E., Miller-Perrin, C. (2006). Report of the APSAC task force on attachment therapy, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and attachment problems. Child Maltreatment, 11, 76-89., published (2006)

10. Friedman, W.J., & Lyon, T.D. (2005). The Development of Temporal-Reconstructive Abilities. Child Development, 76, 1202-1216., published (2005)

9. Freyd, J.J., Putnam, F.W., Lyon, T.D., Becker-Blease, K.A., Cheit, R.E., Siegel, N.B., & Pezdek, K. (2005). The problem of child sexual abuse: Response. Science, 309, 1183-1184. , published (2005)

8. Freyd, J.J., Putnam, F.W., Lyon, T.D., Becker-Blease, K.A., Cheit, R.E., Siegel, N.B., & Pezdek, K. (2005). The science of child sexual abuse. Science, 308, 501. , published (2005)

7. Kendall-Tackett, K., Lyon, T., Taliaferro, G., & Little, L. (2005). Why child maltreatment researchers should include children’s disability status in their maltreatment studies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 147-151., published (2005)

6. Lyon, T.D., Saywitz, K.J., Kaplan, D.L., & Dorado, J.S. (2001). Reducing maltreated children’s reluctance to answer hypothetical oath-taking competency questions. Law & Human Behavior, 25, 81-92., published (2001)

5. Lyon, T.D., & Saywitz, K.J. (1999). Young maltreated children’s competence to take the oath. Applied Developmental Science, 3, 16-27., published (1999)

4. Kato, P.M., Lyon, T.D., & Rasco, C. (1998). Reasoning about moral aspects of illness and treatment by preschoolers who are healthy or have a chronic illness. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 19, 68-76., published (1998)

3. Lyon, T.D. (1995). False allegations and false denials in child sexual abuse. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 1, 429-437., published (1995)

2. Lyon, T.D., & Flavell, J.F. (1994). Young children's understanding of "remember" and "forget." Child Development, 65, 1357-1371., published (1994)

1. Lyon, T.D., & Flavell, J.F. (1993). Young children's understanding of forgetting over time. Child Development, 64, 789-800., published (1993)

C. Publications in Books

16. Lyon, T.D. (in press). Child witnesses and imagination: Lying, hypothetical reasoning, and referential ambiguity. In M. Taylor (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Imagination. New York: Oxford., posted (2011)

15. Lyon, T.D. (2011). Assessing the competency of child witnesses: Best practice informed by psychology and law. In M.E. Lamb, D. La Rooy, L.C. Malloy, & C. Katz (Eds.), Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice (pp. 69-85). Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell., published (2011)

14. Lyon, Thomas D. (2010). Investigative interviewing of the child. In D.N. Duquette & A.M. Haralambie (Eds.) Child Welfare Law and Practice (2d Ed.) (pp. 87-109). Denver, CO: Bradford., published (2010)

13. Saywitz, K.J., Lyon, T. D., & Goodman, G.S. (2011). Interviewing Children. In J.E.B. Myers (Ed.), The APSAC handbook on child maltreatment (3d ed.) (pp. 337-360). Newbury Park, CA: Sage., posted (2009)

12. Lyon, T.D., & Ahern, E.C. (2011). Disclosure of child sexual abuse. In J.E.B. Myers (Ed.), The APSAC handbook on child maltreatment (3d. ed.) (pp.233-252). Newbury Park, CA: Sage., Posted (2009)

11. Lyon, T.D. (2009). Abuse disclosure: What adults can tell. In Bottoms, B.L., Najdowski, C.J., & Goodman, G.S. (Eds.) Children as victims, witnesses, and offenders: Psychological science and the law (pp. 19-35). New York: Guilford., published (2009)

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)

6. Lyon, T.D. (2002). Child witnesses and the oath. In Westcott, H.L., Davies, G.M., & Bull, R.H.C. (Eds.), Children's testimony: A handbook of psychological research and forensic practice (pp. 245-260). West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley., published (2002)

5. Lyon, T.D. (2002). Scientific Support for Expert Testimony on Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation In J.R. Conte (Ed.), Critical issues in child sexual abuse (pp. 107-138). Newbury Park, CA: Sage., published (2002)

4. Saywitz, K.J., Goodman, G.S., & Lyon, T.D. (2002). Interviewing children in and out of court: Current research and practice implications. In J. Myers, L. Berliner, J. Briere, C.T. Hendrix, C. Jenny, & T. Reid (Eds.), The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (2d Ed., pp. 349-377). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage., published (2002)

3. Saywitz, K.J., & Lyon, T.D. (2002). Coming to grips with children’s suggestibility. In M. Eisen, G. Goodman, & J. Quas (Eds.), Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview (pp. 85-113). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum., published (2002)

2. Lyon, T.D. (1999). Are battered women bad mothers? Rethinking the termination of abused women’s parental rights for failure to protect. In H. Dubowitz (Ed.), Neglected children: Research, practice, and policy (pp. 237-260). Newbury Park, CA: Sage., published (1999)

1. Lyon, T.D., & Koehler, J.J. (1998). Where researchers fear to tread: Interpretive differences among testifying experts in child sexual abuse cases. In S.J. Ceci & H. Hembrooke (Eds.), Expert witnesses in child abuse cases: What can and should be said in court (pp. 249-263). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association., published (1998)

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)

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., published (2003)

E. Practitioner Guides

5. Ahern, E.C., & Lyon, T.D. (2011) Supplemental investigative interview questions., created (2011)

6. Lyon, T.D. (2005). Ten Step Investigative Interview (Spanish version)., created (2011)

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

10. Lyon, T.D. (2009). Witnesses, Children as legal. In R.A. Shweder, T.R. Bidell, A.C. Dailey, S.D. Dixon, P.J. Miller, & J. Modell (Eds.), The child: An encyclopedic companion (pp. 1036-1039). Chicago: University of Chicago Press., Published (2009)

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.,, published (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)

3. Lyon, T.D. (1996, Fall). The effect of threats on children’s disclosure of sexual abuse. APSAC Advisor, 9, 9-15., published (1996)

2. Lyon, T.D. (1996, Spring). Assessing children's competence to take the oath: Research and recommendations. APSAC Advisor, 9, 1, 3-7., published (1996)

1. Lyon, T.D. (1993). Children's decision-making competency: Misunderstanding Piaget. Violence Update, 4, 6, 9., published (1993)

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)