The Clone Wars makes its triumphant return in less than 24 hours, which means we here at The Legal Geeks are bound by law to take up one of the most controversial legal issues in the entire series: The Jedi trial of Ahsoka Tano.
For those in need of a refresher, after a shocking bombing at the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka found herself framed for the attack. Facing accusations of murder and treason, Ahsoka was hauled before the Jedi Council to face judgment. Although the Jedi Order is supposed to be a bastion of truth and justice, those principles seemed to Force levitate right out the window when it came to handling accusations against Ahsoka.
Ahsoka’s trial before the Jedi High Council was a shocking turn of events that saw one of the brightest young Jedi expelled from the Order. It was the first peek into one of the most solemn inner-workings of the Jedi Order, in which Jedi face judgment from their own. Jedi Council members performed multiple roles during the proceeding, including receiving evidence, cross-examining Ahsoka, and rendering a decision on her guilt and future in the Order.
While the real-world military sadly lacks lightsabers, Force levitation, and sweet padawan braids, there is a robust justice system that includes a process very similar to what Ahsoka faced before the Council. Apart from courts-martial, which are criminal trials, a service member can also face a separate adverse administrative process, which can kick them out of the service and strip them of certain benefits.
Real-world Army officers who are accused of misconduct can be forced to appear before a “board of inquiry.” Instead of being presided over by a judge like in a normal criminal trial, a board of inquiry is comprised of three senior officers, whose job is to consider evidence, reach a conclusion about the truth of the allegations, and then decide whether the officer should be kicked out of the service. Much like an actual board, Ahsoka is a Jedi holding the military rank of Commander, which subjects her to judgment before a group of the most senior members of the Jedi Order.
Just as the Jedi Council did not criminally convict Ahsoka or throw her in prison, Army boards of inquiry are limited to deciding whether an Army officer should remain in the service. A real-world board of inquiry has no power to hand down criminal convictions, fines, jail time, or other such consequences one might face at trial. Ahsoka’s Jedi trial was similarly limited in its scope, with the Order’s judgment being limited to expelling Ahsoka from the Order, while the possibility of criminal punishment was left to the Republic and everyone’s favorite set of cheekbones, Wilhuff Tarkin.
While Ahsoka’s proceeding was called a “trial,” she very clearly didn’t receive all the rights we afford to defendants. While this doesn’t seem fair, even real-world boards of inquiry don’t give military officers every bit of available due process. Those limited rights stem from the limited scope of the board. Since officers don’t face a criminal conviction or jail time at a board, there is less of a need for robust due process protections.
For example, unlike at a criminal trial, an officer has no Constitutional right to confront the witnesses at a board of inquiry. That means that a witness statement could be used to present certain facts instead of calling that witness to the stand to testify. Since the Jedi Council was only considering expelling Ahsoka from the Order, she similarly had fewer rights than she did at her eventual Republic criminal trial.
But before you go give a high five to Mace Windu and a low…low five…to Yoda for offering Ahsoka some due process, it’s important to realize the huge number of problems with Ahsoka’s “trial”—problems which combined to railroad her out of the Order.
Even though military officers don’t get every bit of due process protection at a board, they still enjoy some protections, which are key to ensuring a fair and impartial process. One of the biggest problems with Ahsoka’s trial is her lack of defense counsel. Unlike Ahsoka’s subsequent Republic trial, where she is deftly represented by Padmé (who may face her own charge of practicing Star Wars law without a license), she faces the Jedi Council without the benefit of an attorney. Even though Anakin Skywalker accompanies her to the proceeding, he plays no role—except for nearly starting a brawl with the Temple Guards after the verdict is handed down.
A trained and experienced defense counsel would have almost certainly helped her case. Military officers are assigned a military defense counsel to represent them before a board of inquiry. The counsel plays a critical role in protecting the officer, from helping prepare the case to questioning witnesses and presenting arguments. It’s unclear whether the Order has any trained Jedi attorneys (totally unbiased opinion: they ABSOLUTELY should), but assigning Ahsoka a more senior Jedi like Tera Sinube or Cere Junda to her case would have almost certainly helped. Where Ahsoka seemingly struggled to present her case to skeptical Council members, a more senior Jedi could have better broken through some of that bias by leveraging their own reputation and experience.
The lack of impartiality amongst the Council is another massive shortcoming of Ahsoka’s trial. Real-world boards of inquiry are comprised of senior officers who are required to be impartial and detached from the allegations. In most cases they do not know the accused officer and have no prior knowledge of the allegations. Before the board begins military defense counsel have the ability to question the officers on the board about their possible biases or preconceived notions, similar to how jurors are questioned before a criminal trial. If a board member is biased, the accused officer can challenge a board member and potentially get them replaced.
In Ahsoka’s case, the Jedi Council members who sat in judgment were about as far from impartial as you can get. From Plo Koon, who had known Ahsoka since discovering her on the planet Shili, to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had served extensively alongside Ahsoka in combat, each of the Council members knew her intimately. Even though some of the Council’s prior relationships likely colored opinions in Ahsoka’s favor, those relationships nonetheless would have made it extremely difficult for Council members to remain fully impartial.
However, it is the Council’s prior knowledge of the case that posed one of the biggest issues. In the real world, board members have zero or very little prior knowledge of the case. This is by design, as it allows them to hear evidence without preconceived notions or opinions. It is then up to the military attorney prosecuting the case the present the facts to the board through witnesses and other evidence. In Ahsoka’s case, the Jedi Council had perhaps more prior knowledge about the case than any other Jedi in the Order. From the immediate aftermath through the investigation, the Council was kept informed of virtually every detail of the case. This information clearly colored their judgment, as Council Members like Mace Windu weaponized their pre-existing knowledge to pointedly cross-examine Ahsoka.
Moreover, their deep emotional connection to the case undoubtedly compromised their judgment. The attack itself represented a brazen and deadly assault on the home of the Jedi and the Council. The loss was clearly felt deeply by the Council, who attended the funeral of the Jedi killed in the attack, with Yoda delivering a stirring eulogy for the fallen. While Jedi might generally pride themselves on their lack of attachment, the pull of this connection was on display during the trial, with Council members seeming to care more about assigning blame than about a legitimate search for the truth. Forcing Ahsoka to plead her case before such a deeply biased and partial body virtually guaranteed her expulsion from the Order.
As if Ahsoka didn’t face enough of an uphill battle, the actual conduct of the trial was rife with unfairness. While the Jedi Council took their time to conduct a relatively extensive investigation, Ahsoka was barely afforded any time to prepare for her trial. An actual military officer would receive advance notice of the board, which gives them a meaningful opportunity to prepare a defense. Ahsoka is given none of that time or access to evidence, and is instead hastily brought before the board and forced to slap together a case.
The lack of time for preparation is a serious problem given how evidence is presented at Ahsoka’s trial. In a normal military board proceeding, there is no presumption of guilt. The Army as an organization bears the burden of proving the allegations and persuading board members to kick the officer out of the service. An attorney for the government is assigned to present evidence and make arguments in order to prove the Army’s case.
The Jedi Order turns that concept on its head. Rather than sit and hear a complete set of evidence, Council members walk in having made a range of assumptions about certain facts. The end result is Ahsoka being forced into the deeply unfair position of having to prove her own innocence. Without the ability to have counsel or line up favorable witnesses, she is also forced to give up her right to remain silent, which is something actual officers are entitled to. Given the possibility those statements could be used against her at a separate criminal trial, this put Ahsoka in a precarious position.
The degree to which the deck was stacked against Ahsoka became readily apparent as the Council rendered its verdict. After taking almost no time to hear evidence or allow Ahsoka to present her case, Yoda announced that the Council had already reached its verdict. Under normal circumstances, members of a board would deliberate over the evidence in private, much like a jury in a criminal case. Here, the Council devoted exactly zero minutes to deliberation before delivering its pre-cooked verdict. Anakin immediately recognized how unfair the circumstances were, calling out the Council and nearly starting an epic battle royale with Temple Guards in the trial chamber.
In the end, the Jedi Order offered about as much due process to Ahsoka as Jabba the Hutt gave Han before trying to throw him in the sarlacc pit. For an organization that prides itself on wisdom, knowledge, and justice, the Jedi Order displayed a shocking lack of those qualities in its treatment of Ahsoka. The Jedi Council’s knee-jerk lunge towards quick justice is symbolic of the larger fracturing of the Jedi Order under the stress of the Clone Wars.
