jeff toobin that's where i wanted to begin. i was reading "the denver post" today.iecely alicia caldwell. she asks, what kind of insane was he when he sprayed those bullets? she said either was the kind of insane where he'll be locked up in a mental institution for the rest of his life or it's the kind of insane in which he was clearly cognizant enough to carry out such a heinous attack. >> the legal system has been struggling with precisely this question not for 100 years but for 200 years. defining what is sane and what is insane is just really hard to do. the best way i can explain it, and i hope no one takes offense, but this is the clearest way i can do it. if a murderer really believes that he is shooting a group of watermelons, not people, watermelons watermelons, then he's legally insane. if he knows he is killing people even if the reason he's killing people is irrational and stupid and heinous and immoral, then he's not legally insane. >> so how do you determine whether it's watermelons or actual people? is that when they look at the notes, the plotting th

. >> jeff in terms of the legal bar, jeff toobin when it comes to bringing federal civil rights charges it's pretty hot. >> eric holder even previewed these decisions, saying it's hard to bring. if someone is not prosecuted on state charges, the odds that they will be prosecuted on federal charges are substantially lower. it's not impossible. it has happened. but if a state grand jury says we can't find a criminal offense when you superimpose the much tougher intent requirement, proving that a defendant really intended to violate someone's civil rights that's a very high bar and this decision if in fact this is the final decision is not a surprise. >> all right. and areva, it's not designed for these cases. >> absolutely it's not, anderson but i think there's confusion about the hate crime statute and how it should be used. because eric holder traveled to ferguson he traveled to the community and talked about how aggressive the department of justice would be in its own independent investigation but the thought of not being a federal prosecution given the state prosecution will leave a l

jeff toobin i want to thank you and neil bruntrager.go ahead, areva martin. >> i just wanted to add that you can't separate the cases from the overall issue. >> thank you. rom the larger issue of the disparities in a criminal justice system. thanks, anderson. >> all right. areva, thanks, to neil as well. >>> ahead tonight on this broadcast, millions watch the patriots with the colts. was the patriots cheating every time they caught the ball? and cost poker players $10,000. police accused the money from tournaments and it was perfectly legal. we investigate ahead. and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and now introducing aleve pm for a better am. the lightest or nothing. the smartest or nothing. the quietest or nothing. the sleekest... ...sexiest ...baddest ...safest, ...tightest, ...quickest... ...harshest... ...or nothing. at mercedes-benz, we do things one way or we don't do them at all. introducing the all-new c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz f

. >> jeff toobin, thank you so much. >>> ahead, coastal new england had barely begun digging out -- >gland is being told to brace for a new winter storm less than 48 hours away even as it's still digging out from record snowfall. and this a dramatic birth story a ahead, twins born in the midst of the storm. you only know in a fire to get out, to escape and now ok you are outside and you are safe but what do you do now and that's where the red cross came in... . we ran out of the house just wearing our pajamas. at that point just to even have a toothbrush that i could call my own was so important... . ...you know it just makes you feel like a person again. every 8 minutes the american red cross responds to a home fire or other emergency. you can help. please donate now. >>> tonight new england is being told to brace for a new winter storm less than 48 hours away even as it's still digging out from record snowfall. this of the scene across much of coastal new england today. the national weather service says the same kind of storm system that dumped all that snow, drop as much eight more

toobin student of alan dershowitz. also with us criminal defense attorney mark geragos. jeffwhy are they even named in this thing? >> this is such a bizarre lawsuit to start with. this is a lawsuit where these women are suing the u.s. government. >> it's not just one woman but several other, suing the american government? >> right for making a plea deal with jeffrey epstein that doesn't cover them. >> a lesser charge that gave him 18 months in prison and avoid a federal charge. >> correct. i've never heard of alleged victims being able to file a lawsuit like that much less succeeding in one. and it is especially bizarre that in that lawsuit they are allowed to file these affidavits, alleging this other supposed sexual misconduct. and, as you point out, alan was a teacher of mine dershowitz has remained a friend of mine for many years. it seems particularly outrageous that she's accusing him because he was one of epstein's lawyers in all of this. >> that's the thing that's so crazy to me. when you look at the details of this thing, the allegations that he was doing this on air