Black Widow is a fun addition to the MCU. Jessica and I had a blast discussing all the legal issues in the film with Mark Zaid. Tune in for in depth analysis of spies and assassins in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 9th Anniversary of The Legal Geeks
Jessica Mederson and I launched The Legal Geeks on July 12, 2012. The last nine years have been a wonderful adventure in meeting amazing lawyers, judges, and fellow geeks. We have blogged on movies, TV shows, and comics.
We have been fortunate to present at San Diego Comic Con, Nerd Nites, and other shows across the country. Above all else on our travels, we have met people who are about the law.
We were able to visit with many friends about some of our past adventures and discuss what we are looking forward to in the rest of 2021 and 2022. Please enjoy our retrospective on our journey so far.
SDCC @ Home with The Legal Geeks and The Mandalorian
Nari Ely and I had the privilege of moderating our virtual San Diego Comic Con panel “This is the Law: Judges on the Mandalorian.” The panel went live on July 24, 2021 at 400 pm PDT. Our panel of Judges included Comic Con veterans Circuit Judge John B. Owens, US Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman, and New York State Judge Matthew Sciarrino.
Here is a full description of our panel:
Bounty hunting is a complicated profession. That is why lawyers geeked out over all of the legal issues in The Mandalorian. Can bounty hunters use lethal force? Is it murder to shoot a Droid or destruction of property? Are former Imperials all war criminals? Find the legal answers to these questions and more in This is the Law, featuring Circuit Judge John B. Owens (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals); U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman; Judge Matthew Sciarrino (New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term Brooklyn), and moderated by Nari Ely (US Courts) and Joshua Gilliland (Greenan, Peffer, Sallander & Lally LLP). Presented by The Legal Geeks: https://linktr.ee/thelegalgeeks
I have spoken.
Loki Podcast Episode Review
Gabby Martin and I have been having a blast reviewing Loki on Disney+. The show is arguably the most glorious comic story brought to any screen. Check out our legal analysis (and geeking out) on our review of The Variant, Lamentis, and The Nexus Event.
Let’s Add D.B. Cooper’s Crimes to Loki’s Charges
Loki has not made the best life choices in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From embittered younger brother who attempted to overthrow his father, to attempted murder of Thor multiple times, to getting mixed up with Thanos and a failed invasion of Earth, there are many crimes for Loki to be charged and prosecuted for violating. Like personally killed 50 people. Or ripping out a man’s eye. A War of Aggression. And now in the Loki series, we learned there was air piracy.
In the real world, the case of D.B. Cooper happened on November 24, 1971, when a 727-100 was hijacked. The hijacker claimed to have a bomb, demanded $200,000, and four parachutes. After getting his demands he parachuted out of the plane and into pop culture and unsolved mysteries.
The Loki series offered that “D.B. Cooper” was actually Loki who lost a bet with Thor.
There are so many problems with that.
First, hijacking a plane is aircraft piracy. 49 U.S.C. § 46502(A) defines the crime as seizing or exercising control over an aircraft by “force, violence, threat of force or violence, or any form of intimidation, and with wrongful intent.” The punishment is a minimum 20 years and if anyone is killed in the crime, either put to death or imprisoned for life.
A 20-year minimum is a blink of an eye to an Asgardian (or Frost Giant), but sentencing could be modified to account for their long lives.
There is another haunting issue with Loki hijacking a plane…and that it was because he lost a bet to Thor. This raises the issue of a conspiracy to hijack an aircraft, which means Thor and Heimdall could also be prosecuted for the air piracy and Loki taking an explosive device onboard a plane. 49 U.S.C. § 46505.
The lessons from all of this? Make Good life choices. Like don’t hijack airplanes on a bet or invade New York.
Did Loki get a Fair Trial from the TVA?
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.
Loki Glorious Purpose Podcast
The God of Mischief has his own new Disney+ series and we covered the multiverse of legal issue in “Glorious Purpose.” From 1970s decor to fair trials, and the MANY crimes of Loki, we had a great time discussing Loki.