James E. Olsson, Forensic Psychologist, 70

[DGH]

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James E. Olsson, a forensic psychologist who had a private practice in
Lutherville, Maryland, and spent nearly 30 years as chief psychologist
for the medical office of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City
[maryland], died July 24, 2006, at his home in Baltimore, from lung
cancer, at the age of 70.

Dr. Olsson started his private practice in 1970 with a partner, Dr.
Jay Levinson. Dr. Olsson worked at the Circuit Court from 1969 to
1996. From 1972 to 2001, he was director of the special offenders
clinic at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.

A frequent expert witness in court, he once testified to the high IQ
of Arthur H. Bremer, who in 1972 shot and paralyzed George C. Wallace,
the Alabama governor running for the U.S. presidency. Bremer, who shot
Wallace at a Laurel campaign stop, was found not to be psychotic and
was sentenced to 53 years in prison.

Dr. Olsson was a prosecution witness at the trial of John W. Hinckley
Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Hinckley was found not
guilty by reason of insanity and was confined to St. Elizabeths
Hospital.

A native Washingtonian, James Eric Olsson was a graduate of St.
Anthony's High School and the University of Maryland (1959). He
received a master's degree in psychology (1962) and a doctorate in
clinical psychology (1967), both from Catholic University.

Early in his career, he was a research psychologist at the National
Institute of Mental Health and coordinated a drug research program
studying the therapeutic effects of LSD on alcoholics.

He was a former chairman of the Maryland Board of Examiners of
Psychologists and president of the Maryland Psychological Association.
He held many teaching positions statewide and did extensive consulting
work.

His marriage to June Olsson ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Diane Settler Olsson of
Baltimore, Maryland; two children from the second marriage, David
Olsson of Manhattan, New York, and Leslie Olsson of San Francisco,
California; a stepson, Michael Schweitzer of Ruxton, Maryland; a
brother, John Olsson of Silver Spring, Maryland; two sisters, Margaret
Ann Ganey of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Mary Louise Van Dyke of
Bethesda, Maryland; and two grandsons.

Washington Post