>>214261854
>how can you view it as anything other than an indictment on Starfleet and the Federation's legal system?
it's not the federations legal system, it's specifically starfleet. different rules.
Also this wasn't a trial, it was a hearing. a judge had a hearing to decide how a legal dispute moves forward.
The judge could order an injunction, "maddox can't take Data until we decide if precedent is overturned" or "precedent says he can take him until a full court ruling and the risk to him is acceptable"
We got the 2nd.
The crux of the situation is using old, outdated law as their precedent, like using british common law when there's no US case law.
They held a hearing to see if that old law really applies to Data.
Picard's legal approach at first is to establish that starfleet *already* treats data as sentient, as evidenced by his various medals and awards. So instead of viewing him as a machine being *upholding* precedent, it's actually a *reversal* of the starfleet approach. This means it'd be inappropriate to let maddox continue until an official ruling from the higher courts.
Picard shifts to arguing exactly why the law, which references AI machines, does not apply to data, by pointing out all the various ways that Data demonstrates, at the very least, autonomy and self awareness (if not full sentience)
And then the final crux of his argument is specifically that NOT blocking maddox from taking Data could set the dangerous precident (like they were using precident from the 21st century) that no amount of sentient would make data's type of androids NOT property.
The court then avoids the question (as courts often do) and makes a very narrow ruling, that Data has the right to self determination, as far as starfleet is concerned.
Court episodes are usually poor. But this one was made because of a writers strike. All things considered, it's one of the better ones.
