Thomas J. Fallon is a lawyer who works in the criminal litigation department of the Attorney General in Wisconsin, USA. He is also the state's first Child Abuse "Resource Prosecutor", a post recently created by former AG Brad Schimel.[1] Fallon has authored books and presentations on prosecutor ethics, interrogations, sexually violent person proceedings and child abuse. He has written a guide on how to prepare children as prosecution witnesses in court.[2] He has also written "The Basic Do's and Dont's of Interviewing"; "The Miranda Primer-Revised, a training manual for prosecutors and law enforcement officers on Wisconsin Interrogation Law"[3]; and the "Safe Schools Legal Resource Manual". He was a national advisor on shaken baby syndrome.[4]
Fallon began his career in the Kenosha County child support agency and District Attorney's office. He became an assistant DA with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, specializing in sex crimes. He then moved to the Dane County DA' s office. In 2016, Fallon returned to the state DoJ.[5]
In 2007, Fallon was a special prosecutor alongside Ken Kratz in the trials of Steven Avery and schoolboy Brendan Dassey, which were made internationally known by the Netflix series Making a Murderer in 2015.[6][7] Fallon was the lead prosecutor at Dassey's trial, telling the jury in closing that innocent people don't confess.[8][9] Fallon conducted the examination of the forensic anthropologist Leslie Eisenberg and, at Avery's trial, Scott Fairgrieve.[10] Fallon has been a frequent name in Avery's subsequent legal appeals, especially concerning burned bone fragments.[11] Fallon previously worked on the report which cleared the state of criminal wrongdoing in Avery's prior wrongful conviction for a violent rape.[12]
In 2014, Fallon was one of two prosecutors accused by a coronor, Dr Michael Stier, of having pressured him into withholding his expert opinion in 2007 that a skull irregularity was not from a fracture.[13] The accused, state-registered day care provider Jennifer Hancock, was found guilty and served 13 years.[14]
References
edit- ^ Koremenos, Johnny (Oct 2, 2018). "Schimel campaign: Our AG, Brad Schimel, launches ad highlighting advocacy on behalf of children – WisPolitics". Wispolitics. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Copen, Lynn M. (2000-07-18). Preparing Children for Court: A Practitioner′s Guide. SAGE Publications. Chapter Six: A Prosecutor's Perspective on Court Preparation: Boundaries and Roles. ISBN 978-1-4522-2195-3.
familiarity with the research on children's memory, suggestibility, and linguistic capabilities is critical in assessing whether a child abuse disclosure is the product of an impermissibly suggestive forensic interview
- ^ Van Hollen, J. B.; Fallon, Tom; Perlman, David (June 2010). Miranda Primer - Revised. Wisconsin DoJ.
INTRODUCTION Confession is not only good for the soul, it is a goal of every criminal investigation. A confession furthers the overall objective of the criminal system virtually assuring that only the guilty are convicted. Not only is a confession likely to result in a conviction but it often lessens the likelihood of a trial
- ^ "National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome - Tom Fallon, JD". web.archive.org. 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Wisconsin DOJ; TMJ Web Staff (2016-06-29). "Wis. DOJ hires 6 new assistant attorney generals". TMJ4 News. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ John, Allen St (Jan 24, 2016). "'Making A Murderer' Attorney Dean Strang Explains The Real Cost of Defending Steven Avery". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Making a Murderer, 2015, Season One, Episide Five. Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, Netflix. "they do so at their peril"
- ^ Buting, Jerome F. (2017-02-28). Illusion of Justice: Inside Making a Murderer and America's Broken System. HarperCollins. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-06-256933-2.
- ^ Ferak, John (2016-08-19). "Experts: Evidence lacking for Dassey re-trial". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Ferak, John (2016-06-28). "Absence of photos mars Avery investigation". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ McDonell-Parry, Amelia (2019-02-15). "Steven Avery's Lawyer Accuses Wisconsin AG's Office of Destroying Evidence". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ Moore, Paul (Oct 15, 2018). "Making A Murderer: A timeline of the major events which lead us to Part Two". JOE.
- ^ Hall, Dee (May 18, 2014). "Key witness changes his view about 2007 infant-death case". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Watch, Hope Karnopp / Wisconsin (2022-08-27). "Two couples sue former UW child abuse doctor for alleged misdiagnoses". Wisconsin Watch. Retrieved 2024-09-13.