42 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
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created: 2026-05-01
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updated: 2026-10-26
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tags:
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- Person
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- PROMIS
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- INSLAW
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- Lawyer
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- Judge
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summary: "Thomas A. Flannery was U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1971, commissioned the system that became PROMIS in 1969, and was a federal district judge from December 1971."
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born: 1918-05-10
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died: 2007-09-20
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location: "Washington, D.C."
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---
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Thomas A. Flannery was born May 10, 1918, in Washington, D.C. He was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1950 to 1962, in private practice from 1962 to 1969, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1971, appointed under President [[Richard Nixon]].[^1] In that capacity, he directed the formation of the team that designed the [[PROMIS|Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS)]], the case management software that became the center of the [[PROMIS Software Scandal|INSLAW affair]] a decade later.[^2]
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### Role in PROMIS Development
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In 1969, Flannery commissioned a team from [[Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co]] to design a computer-based case management system for the [[U.S. Attorney's office|DC U.S. Attorney's Office]], funded by a $60,000 grant (70-DF-047) from the [[Office of Crime Analysis of the District of Columbia]] administered through the [[LEAA|Law Enforcement Assistance Administration]]. The team was co-directed by [[Joan E. Jacoby]] (Director of the Office of Crime Analysis) and [[Charles R. Work]] (Deputy Director of the Superior Court Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office), with [[Bill Hamilton]] serving as project manager.[^2][^3] The system, named the Prosecutor's Management Information System, was deployed on January 1, 1971.[^3]
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### Judicial Career
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President Nixon nominated Flannery to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 18, 1971. The Senate confirmed him on December 1, 1971, and his commission issued on December 6, 1971. He assumed senior status on May 10, 1985 and died on September 20, 2007.[^1] He served as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1977 until approximately 1987, and continued as a senior judge thereafter.
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### Dresser Industries cases, 1978 and 1982" at the end of the page's body, before the footnotes. The live page does not mention Dresser. The reported opinions identify the judge as "Flannery, J." (1978) and "The Honorable Thomas A. Flannery of this Court" (1982). Footnotes D1 and D2.
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Insert-ready section:
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### Dresser Industries cases, 1978 and 1982
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In the SEC's investigation of questionable foreign payments by [[Dresser Industries]], Flannery denied Dresser's motion to compel discovery from the Commission on June 16, 1978, explaining in court that discovery is rarely necessary in subpoena enforcement cases, and on June 30, 1978 issued an opinion, reported at 453 F. Supp. 573, requiring Dresser to comply with the SEC subpoena. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed en banc in 1980.[^4]
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On August 24, 1982 Flannery denied the request for a temporary restraining order sought by Dresser and its French subsidiary, [[Dresser France]], against Commerce Department sanctions over the Siberian gas pipeline, with a written order the following day finding no substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Two days later a Commerce Hearing Commissioner issued an ex parte temporary denial order that denied Dresser (France) all export privileges. The reported decision of September 9, 1982, by [[Joyce Hens Green]], set an expedited administrative schedule and denied the restraining order without prejudice.[^5]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, entry for Flannery, Thomas Aquinas (assistant U.S. attorney, D.C., 1950 to 1962; U.S. attorney, D.C., 1969 to 1971; nominated November 18, 1971; senior status May 10, 1985; died September 20, 2007). https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/flannery-thomas-aquinas
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[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* House Report 102-857, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, September 10, 1992.
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[^3]: Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., *System Overview and Report Formats for PROMIS* (May 1971), prepared for the District of Columbia Government Office of Crime Analysis under LEAA Grant No. 70-DF-047, note 1 to the passage on the design team, NCJ 32469. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/32469NCJRS.pdf
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[^4]: *Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dresser Industries, Inc.*, 628 F.2d 1368 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (en banc), Part I.B (orders of June 16 and June 30, 1978; 453 F. Supp. 573 (D.D.C. 1978)). https://static.case.law/f2d/628/cases/1368-01.json
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[^5]: *Dresser Industries, Inc. and Dresser (France) S.A. v. Baldridge*, 549 F. Supp. 108 (D.D.C. 1982), order of September 9, 1982, reporting the August 24 order of Thomas A. Flannery, the August 26 temporary denial order and the schedule. https://static.case.law/f-supp/549/cases/0108-01.json
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