Bruck has directed Washington and Lee's death penalty defense clinic, the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse, since 2004.

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Bruck, a law school classmate and occasional legal colleague, spoke with CNN in January 2011, when she was appointed to defend Loughner.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

But she spoke freely last year with the magazine at Washington and Lee University Law School, where she and her husband teach, as does Bruck.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

"Judy is as genuine as a person can be, " Bruck said.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

She received her law degree in 1977 from the University of South Carolina Law School, where Bruck was a couple of years ahead of her and served as a student adviser.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

That law is still on the books, Bruck said.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

Later, as a defense attorney in South Carolina, Bruck recruited Clarke to help him defend Susan Smith, the emotionally disturbed mother who in October 1994 strapped her two boys into her car and let it roll into a lake, drowning them.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row