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In Star Trek: TOS Season 1, Episode 20 “Court Martial,” Captain James T. Kirk faced a formal trial by court-martial, a rare moment in the series when Starfleet procedures and laws become central to the drama.
The U.S.S. Enterprise suffered an ion storm, during which Kirk prematurely dismissed a pod with crewman Lt. Commander Ben Finney. He is presumed killed at the moment, and Captain Kirk is on trial by court-martial for not following the rules strictly. Read on to know more about what happened in the court-martial, as Kirk is eventually cleared of all the charges in Star Trek: TOS.
Why did Captain Kirk face trial in the Star Trek: TOS episode Court Martial?
In Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Kirk faced trial in court-martial for ordering the jettisoning of the ship's ion pod. Although it was a safety procedure he followed, he ejected the pod much earlier than advised in the rule book, as the computer evidence showed. Another officer, Finney, was still inside the pod and was presumed to be killed. Kirk was charged with perjury and negligence leading to death, making him the first starship captain in Starfleet history to face a court-martial.
During the court-martial, Kirk insisted that he gave the order when the danger threshold was reached, and Finney shouldn't have been inside by then. However, Kirk's action seemed influenced by something else because Kirk and Finney shared a history. Kirk had once reported Finney's mistake that delayed his career advancement. Many in the courtroom actually thought that Kirk might have acted on his grudge again, subconsciously.
Commodore Stone, the base commander, when reviewing the Enterprise’s computer logs, confirmed that when the pod was jettisoned, the ship was only on Yellow alert and not Red, as Kirk said. Ejecting the pod prematurely could endanger lives, hence it was against the ship's protocols. Stone urged Kirk to step down from the commanding position, but Kirk refused and demanded a court-martial, believing in his potential.
Kirk and Cogley left with no evidence to back their claims in Star Trek: TOS
The Trial in Star Trek: TOS was held on Starbase 11, structured much like a naval court-martial, with Commodore Stone presiding as the judge and Lt. Areel Shaw as the Prosecutor. The defence was presented by Samuel T. Cogley, and Finney’s daughter, Jame, along with Starfleet officers and civilians, were the observers.
Witnesses testify to Kirk’s strained history with Finney. The computer logs provided evidence that Kirk had jettisoned the pod prematurely when the ship was on yellow alert. The log includes visual footage, making Kirk’s denial appear to be an outright lie.
Cogley, on the other hand, emphasized Kirk’s character and long service record. He also reminded everyone that computers are machines and not infallible, and that they must not outweigh human testimony. However, without any strong evidence to back their claims, the defence was falling apart.
Kirk discovered that the ship's computers were being tampered with
During the recess in Star Trek: TOS, Kirk joked to Spock about beating the computer at 3D chess. The computer was made with the best of Spock's knowledge and skills, but Spock still ended up winning it repeatedly, rather than drawing. This indicated that tampering with the ship's computer had occurred.
They rushed to the court with the evidence of tampering before the judges could pass their verdicts. The next hearing became all about arguing on the extent to which humans could rely on machines, and the court agreed to reconvene aboard the Enterprise.
On the Enterprise, Spock confirmed that only three people could alter the logs: himself, Finney, and Kirk. That is when Cogley hinted that maybe Finney was not dead. McCoy set up a highly sensitive auditory scanner tuned to pick up heartbeats. He masked out the heartbeats of the crew members, but still one heartbeat remained, proving that Finney was alive.
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In the final moment of the Star Trek: TOS episode, Kirk confronted Finney, and the latter revealed he had staged his death to bring Kirk down. This is how Finney was taken into custody, and Kirk was cleared of all charges. The court restored his reputation and command.
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