Loughner Insanity Defense—Victoria Toensing

The disturbing photograph of Jared L. Loughner that was released after his arrest, as well as the writings and statements attributed to him, seemed to point to a man with a mental disorder.

Even if that is found to be true, the lawyers for Mr. Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout who has been charged in the Tucson shootings, may find it difficult to mount a successful insanity defense.

The rules regarding such a legal strategy were tightened over the years in the wake of the verdict for John W. Hinckley Jr., who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. (New York Times)

Victoria Toensing has written extensively on the insanity defense and is interviewed by LBN host Scott Drake.

VICTORIA TOENSING

Victoria Toensing, founding partner of the Washington D.C. law firm diGenova & Toensing, LLP, has extensive experience in all three branches of government solving problems for individuals, corporations, trade associations, and other organizations.  She is an internationally-known expert on white collar crime, terrorism, and national security and intelligence matters.

Toensing represented "Jane Doe Thompson" in a successful lawsuit against the CIA.  "Thompson," the first woman Chief of Station in Latin America, reported her male deputy for wife-beating and disciplined other subordinates for misconduct ranging from public drunkenness to threatening to kill security guards.  Thompson sued when she became the subject of an Inspector General investigation based on these subordinates' false claims.  In 1997, Toensing was named Special Counsel by the U.S. House of Representatives to probe the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  In 2007, Toensing was retained by the New York State Senate to investigate then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer in the Troopergate matter.

As Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Justice Department from 1984-1988, she established Justice's Terrorism Unit.  She managed the federal government's efforts to bring to justice the terrorists responsible for the hijacking of TWA 847, the bombing of Pan Am 830, and the takeover of the cruise ship Achille Lauro.  For her aggressive pursuit of terrorist Mohammed Rashid she was featured on the cover of The New York Times Magazine (April 21, 1991).