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A significant controversy in the human sciences and philosophy has arisen because muchscholarship remains heavily weighted toward either the general (theoretical elaboration) or theparticular (historical miniatures) without much research and writing in between. A seeminglyminor legal incident (institutional generation of fear and anxiety used to justify violation of laborrights) is examined both in its own right (in detail) and in terms of how it reveals predatorystrategies on the part of agencies of authoritarian social control designed, more or lesssuccessfully, to restrict democratic communication and association as well as codify rules ofstratification in the institution. From the threat of motorcycle gangs taking over defenselesstowns (as if drawn from an American International movie matinee) to the application of shocktherapy to recalcitrant populations in economically-strapped and recession-mired societies, apattern is described which helps clarify old and new authoritarianism as well as the masspsychology of 21st century fascism.“A Citizen of Standing:” New Zealand’s District Inspector in Historical ContextKate Prebble, University of Auckland (k.prebble@auckland.ac.nz)Claire Gooder, University of Auckland (cgoo027@aucklanduni.ac.nz)New Zealand’s Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) (MHCAT) Act (1992)legislates for a District Inspector (DI), whose role is to ensure that mental health consumers heldunder the Act are aware of their legal rights. The New Zealand DI role first appeared innineteenth century legislation. Its historical longevity does not, however, denote that this role hasbeen consistently perceived or approached since its inception. This paper will look at thehistorical development of the DI, focusing in particular on the period 1969–1992, when thepurpose and scope of the role was part of a Mental Health Act (1969) review. This was a time offundamental social and professional change, shifting ideas of psychiatric practice, new locationsof treatment, and growing emphasis on patient/consumer rights. The paper explores how theinteraction between the law and mental health needs, in the context of social and politicalchange, shaped public and governmental expectations of the role.Providing an historical analysis of the DI role adds complexity to our understanding of howperceptions of mental health issues change according to social and political contexts of the time.This has relevance for current mental health law.42. The Death PenaltyDeath Qualification and Predictions of Future Dangerousness Testimony inDeath Penalty TrialsJoel Lieberman, University of Nevada (jdl@unlv.nevada.edu)104