Does Vincent Bugliosi Have Asperger's?

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I have a cousin who might have Asperger's, and I've been trying to become more familiar with public personalities who have (or might have) the syndrome. Vincent Bugliosi, the renowned prosecutor, is one person who I believe might have Asperger's. Aspies have a tendency to blurt out inappropriate comments- the types of remarks that NTs would realize are socially unacceptable. In a 1996 debate with Alan Dershowitz, there were several instances where Bugliosi made comments that clearly violated social norms.

The debate is in four parts on youtube.

First, Dershowitz quoted a statement from Bugliosi's book (around 0:38 in the third video):

Bugliosi claimed that if he had been prosecuting O.J. Simpson, he would've made that statement to the Judge. Dershowitz claimed that if Bugliosi had said that to the Judge, he (Bugliosi) would have been disbarred. "I tell you, it takes a lot of guts to say that, but you would have been disbarred," Dershowitz asserted.

Bugliosi's statement sounds like it could be an Aspie tirade. An NT- even one who isn't a lawyer- would probably realize that you cannot talk so disrespectfully to a Judge and get away with it. If Bugliosi thinks that you can say something like that to a Judge, then that suggests that he doesn't understand human relationships.

Afterwards, Bugliosi flipped out on two occasions, blurting out remarks that many people would consider flagrantly inappropriate. First, Bugliosi said (around 1:46 in the last video): "There's no time to talk on this show. It's a silly little exercise and all we are being is entertainers to the people who are watching." Most people would probably believe that it is highly unacceptable to appear on a talk show and then complain that the whole thing is just "a silly little exercise." An NT would probably have enough tact not to reveal his true feelings about the show.

A little later in the debate (around 2:29 in the final video), Bugliosi said: "For what you people did in this case, fraudulently injecting race into this case and accusing innocent police officers of framing Simpson, the whole lot of you - the whole lot of you should've been hogtied and whipped in the town square at noon time." That is another comment that could be construed as an Aspie remark. It is considered socially unacceptable to employ harsh personal attacks during debates, even if those attacks represent your true thoughts. Bugliosi seemed to be disregarding social norms and simply speaking his mind, which is something that Aspies frequently do.

Furthermore, it appears that legal preparation is Bugliosi's special interest. He has admitted that he has an obsession with meticulous preparation, and one of his colleagues even said that he might be obsessive-compulsive about preparation.

What is your opinion? Do you think that Bugliosi has Asperger's?

I don't know. Why don't you ask him instead of a bunch of strangers on a social website?

Oh look, another one of these threads.

I'm merely trying to become more familiar with what constitutes Aspergian behavior. That's why I am inquiring about Bugliosi. I would be curious to know if my theory about him is correct, or if I am simply off-base.

Even when someone demonstrates behavior that is often found in Aspergers, it does not mean that they have Aspergers or even that they are likely to have Aspergers.

I hate these threads.

You do not have a "theory" about him. What you have is, at best, a conjecture and I'm not even sure it could be called a conjecture.

(Thread moved from Autism discussion to Random)

Thank you for your input. Are you saying that celebrity threads frequently occur, and that is why you do not like them? What information would be needed to have more than what you believe is "conjecture"? I would have thought that by observing someone's behavior during an interview, a person (especially one who is knowledgable about the autism spectrum) might be able to determine if the interviewee is NT or not.

For something to be rightfully considered to be a theory, there has to be very substantial evidence that backs it up.



By knowledgeable, do you mean a highly trained psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in autism? In the worst cases, it shouldn't take that level of expertise, but in most cases, not likely.

I see your point. A few comments from an interview are not particularly substantial evidence, but those remarks struck me as "red flags."


I wasn't necessarily referring to a psychologist or psychiatrist. I meant that many people on this forum are probably "knowledgeable" in the sense that they can easily identify an individual with Asperger's.

To the OP:

It doesn't seem right to me for you to try to diagnose him based on what you've written here. NTs rock the boat sometimes too, one doesn't have to have Asperger's to do that.

I heard Bugliosi speak at my college once, back in the 70s. At that time I had no idea what Asperger's was, but I can tell you that nothing about him stood out for me as unusual in a way that today would make me wonder if he had Asperger's. I remember I thought he was brilliant. But that doesn't help me conclude anything about him one way or the other. It's impossible to tell from a distance, based on a speech or a single statement, whether someone has Asperger's.

As others have suggested, why don't you ask him, rather than ask a forum of people who don't know him?

Vincent who? I've never heard of this guy.

Out of curiousity, I pulled up an interview with him on youtube and there is nothing about his mannerisms or anything else in that interview that would make me even suspect anything like Aspergers. He might or might not have Aspergers, but if he is, I suspect it would surely take someone really trained in it to spot it.

Imo, this implies that our illustrious Moderator perceives this thread as having nothing relevant to discussions of Autism, and is merely so much Random noise.

If this is the case, then I whole-heartedly agree with the Moderator's assessment and actions.

That sounds like a reasonable assessment. An NT is perfectly capable of pushing the envelope. Although I wasn't trying to make an official diagnosis (as I am not a psychologist), you're probably correct in saying that one interview is not sufficient to draw a conclusion- one way or the other.


Bugliosi is considered the greatest prosecutor of the twentieth century. He is most famous for prosecuting Charles Manson.


In that case, perhaps my conjecture was incorrect. Out of curiosity, which interview was it?

It was about the JFK movie.