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In its 1995 session, the New Mexico legislature pondered and passed a bill
that set limits on the testimony of psychologists in court. Senate bill 459,
written by Richard Romero, included the following language, quoted in the
newsletter Dispatches:
"When a psychologist or psychiatrist testifies during a defendant's
competency hearing, the psychologist or psychiatrist shall wear a cone-shaped
hat that is not less than two feet tall. The surface of the hat shall be
imprinted with stars and lightning bolts.
"Additionally, a psychologist or psychiatrist shall be required to don a
white beard . . . and shall punctuate crucial elements of his testimony by
stabbing the air with a wand." Before the expert's testimony about
competency, the bill specified, "the bailiff shall contemporaneously dim
the courtroom lights and administer two strikes to a Chinese gong."
Although the Senate passed the bill by a voice vote, and the House voted 46 to
14 to make it official, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson vetoed it.
SF Chronicle