Roger M. Adelman Files of the John W. Hinckley, Jr. Trial

Roger M. Adelman (1941-2015) was the federal government lawyer who led the unsuccessful prosecution of John W. Hinckley, Jr., in the 1981 assassination attempt of United States President Ronald Reagan. The trial led to significant alterations in the law regarding the insanity defense in criminal trials. Prior to 1984, defendants could be found not guilty by reason of insanity if it could be shown that, because of mental disease, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong or could not control themselves well enough to obey the law. In 1984, in direct response to the Hinckley verdict, Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which set a higher bar for the insanity defense in federal courts. Under this new law, lack of control was no longer a defense.

Roger M. Adelman was born on June 25, 1941, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Dartmouth College in 1963 and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. Adelman then went on to serve in the United States Army and attended its language school in Monterey, California, to learn Russian. After leaving the military, Adelman began working for the United States Attorney’s office in Washington, DC. In 1997, the Council for Court Excellence awarded him the Justice Potter Stewart Award for his contribution to the administration of Justice in Washington. Roger Adelman died in Washington, DC, in 2015.

On March 30, 1981, John W. Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate United States President Ronald Reagan outside of the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Hinckley wounded Regan with a bullet that ricocheted off of the presidential limousine. Hinckely also wounded Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, police officer Thomas Delahanty, and press secretary James Brady. In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was confined to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. until his release in 2016. The trial led to significant alterations in the law regarding the insanity defense in criminal trials. Prior to 1984, defendants could be found not guilty by reason of insanity if it could be shown that, because of mental disease, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong or could not control themselves well enough to obey the law. In 1984, in direct response to the Hinckley verdict, Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which set a higher bar for the insanity defense in federal courts. Under this new law, lack of control was no longer a defense.