The Time Variance Authority put Loki on trial with the punishment tantamount to a death sentence that looked like traffic court. The entire proceeding raised the issue of what is a “fair” trial? While there is the legal maxim that a defendant is “entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one,” an administrative proceeding without attorneys pushes that precedent to absurdity. State v. J.A.W., No. A-5255-17T4, at *24 (N.J. Super. Nov. 12, 2020).
There are multiple troubling issues with the lack of fairness in Loki’s trial. The first is there was no pretense of an attorney to assist in Loki’s defense. Federal Courts first gave this right to those accused of crimes in Federal cases, which was expanded to the States in Gideon v. Wainwright. The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Sixth Amendment require criminal defendants to have effective counsel. Loki had nothing but a ticket to nonexistence.
Courts have quoted the axiom “It is beyond cavil that a fair trial may be obtained without a jury.” Com. v. Wharton, 495 Pa. 581, 599-600 (Pa. 1981). This is born from the fact a fair trial requires an impartial and properly instructed jury. Rivera v. Illinois, 556 U.S. 148 (2009). While there can be an exception in a case with substantial publicity, Loki was not on trial in New York City for his war of aggression against the Earth; he was on trial for violating the “sacred timeline.” This sounds more like a trial in the Star Chamber than any trial concerned with fundamental fairness.
Verdict: the TVA has unjust trials lacking fairness.
