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One of the prosecution's choices, Psychiatrist Saul Faerstein, goes a step further; he sees the tapes as proof that the whole hypnosis was a hype. Says he: "Bianchi was almost a caricature of a hypnotized person, with eyes closed and head bobbing—a pseudo trance." The other prosecution choice. Psychiatrist Martin Orne, staged his own "double hallucination" test of Bianchi. After trying to hypnotize the killer, Orne asked him to shake hands with an imaginary figure that he identified as Bianchi's attorney Dean Brett. Then Orne had the real Brett enter the room. Confused, Bianchi asked if Brett could be in two places.
Orne: Well, you tell me, which one is real?
Bianchi (long pause): He's real (pointing to Brett).
Orne: How do you know?
Bianchi: 'Cause he's not here any more (motioning to where the imaginary Brett stood). How can I see him in two places?
That convinced Orne that Bianchi was faking. He contends that under hypnosis Bianchi should have remained calm and been able to accept the presence of two Bretts.
Angelo Buono goes to court in late March, and his attorney plans to use the taped reports to undermine Bianchi's testimony. His contention: the tapes show that Bianchi is hopelessly disturbed or a liar, either of which strains his credibility. The prosecution thinks it can win a conviction without using the tapes. But the issue of the value of psychiatric testimony in a court of law will not be settled so soon. Admits Lunde: "You get people who say you should keep psychiatrists out of courtrooms." But, he says, "the main reason we're there is that judges and lawyers want us there."