3D Printing on Almost Human
The Almost Human season finale included 3D printing as a key element of the story. The episode “Perception” also included a 3D printer as a central issue.
We actually are seeing 3D printer cases today. 3D printing is the “additive manufacturing process of making a three-dimensional object of virtually any shape from a digital model.”
Ronald Barranco & Print3d Corp. v. 3d Sys. Corp., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25935 (D. Haw. 2014). See also Ritani, LLC v. Aghjayan, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130600 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2013) and DSM Desotech, Inc. v. 3D Sys. Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13017, 6-7 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 31, 2013).
The villain in the season finale was kidnapping people and leaving a replica of their body that was created by a 3D printer. As the 3D printer could not print internal organs, the bodies were left full of straw. The motive for leaving this “scarecrow” was no one looks for a missing person if there is a dead body. The victims were then subjected to medical experiments involving robotic implants as human test subjects.
The bad guy committed a whole boatload of crimes. The majority of these crimes would have a significant amount of electronically stored information as evidence, from the parts created to the medical experiments. All of these data would need to be forensically collected for trial. Moreover, the evidence would be in key in freeing the wrongly convicted “patsy.” (Note, this probably would take longer than a few hours, but it is nice to imagine an innocence project working that quickly).
An interesting issue would be the dumping of straw filed dead bodies that were not actually dead bodies, because they were 3D printings of human bodies. A Court likely would find these 3D printed bodies legally would be a “dead body” because of the printing was a replica of a human body, despite having flat feet. As such, the villain could be charged with the improper disposal of human remains, even though the human remains were not actually human. A Court would likely look to the effect of the printing on someone who finds it, which meets the genetic requirements for fooling a DNA test.
I truly hope Almost Human is renewed for another season. Karl Urban and Michael Ealy had amazing chemistry together as the odd couple who become friends. The way the characters interacted was simply gold. Moreover, the world of Almost Human was a beautiful tribute to multiple science fiction stories. Additionally, this was perhaps the only science fiction show that tried to follow criminal procedure and acknowledged Constitutional rights. Job well done to the team and hope to see them in the fall.
Scandal is back…finally!
After the fall finale, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it to the end of February to see another Scandal. The holidays and Olympics helped, but I was very happy that February was finally over and we could see what was happening to Olivia and her motley crew. I’d been a bit concerned that Scandal was going to be too extreme after the finale (the bad spy mommy storyline had me thinking that the show was taking an Alias-like turn that it didn’t need) but this week it showed me that it’s focusing again on what it does best: completely dysfunctional romantic relationships.
[SPOILER ALERT – I DISCUSS THIS WEEK’S EPISODE BELOW]
Ironically, Olivia’s relationship with the president is the healthiest relationship on the show right now (even if he is a petulant rich boy used to getting his own way). Quinn is apparently unwilling to leave the dark side (I still have concerns about that plot idea), the new vice president is pining after Mellie (love that storyline!), Harrison’s nemesis showed up with a fantastic but twisted reveal, and the current vice president apparently has a co-dependent relationship with a demon. Plus Jake is going to let his heart be broken again because of his loyalty to his country and his president (and speaking of Alias connections…)
But none of these compare to the most messed up relationship at the moment: that of Cyrus and his long-suffering husband, James. And apparently James is fed up of with how Cyrus treats him. So now he’s secretly tape recording Cyrus, trying to bring him down for his role in the murder of the vice president’s husband (legal question: can you conspire with a demon?). Unfortunately, his tape recording violated D.C. law, which requires that at least one party to the conversation consents to the recording. I’m old enough that James’ conversation about the law with David Rosen immediately brought back memories of Linda Tripp and her bff, Monica Lewinsky (ahh, the good old days of the ’90s). And I’m assuming that, much like Linda, James is now going to secretly record his conversations with Cyrus, in the hopes of bringing down a presidency. Of course, as Linda Tripp discovered, tape recording laws vary from state to state, with some states, such as Maryland, requiring the consent of all parties to the recording. So James had better be careful.
James has bigger problems, however, than just breaking the law. As he himself knows, Cyrus is a monster and isn’t afraid to do some pretty awful stuff (with Olivia’s father being his only true equal in the realm of evil). But Cyrus is the first big bad that I’ve rooted for since Darth Vader. They’re both bad guys but you love to watch them, so I doubt Shondra will let too much happen to Cyrus!
Why A District Attorney Volunteers for Mock Trial
Attorneys are not know for having “free time.” Yet, nearly 100 volunteer to school the high school mock trial tournament in Santa Clara County. I sat down with a Deputy District Attorney to discuss why he volunteers to score the tournament and his awe-inspiring recruiting efforts in securing other scoring attorneys for the competition.
Anyone Else Offended by Rake?
I initially liked Rake. Not anymore.
The Rake episode about the bigamist really offended me for its depiction of attorneys, judges and women. I have not been this offended since Girls Club. Here is why:
The Prosecuting Attorney
The only “strong” female character who was not in any form of distress was an extremely mean DA. She cut down her former husband, now a judge, in chambers in front of defense counsel. Apparently a strong woman with a successful career only knows how to spit venom and hate.
Problems with this part of the show would be 1) an attorney handling a case before an former spouse; and 2) it sent the message successful female attorneys are horrible human beings. Simply not true.
The Defendant’s Wives
The Defendant was a “good dad” who happened to have married three women. The second and third marriages would be void and illegal under Cal Fam Code § 2201. While the Defense effectively argued jury nullification to not throw the criminal-husband in jail, there is no way the subsequent marriages would be legal.
The really disturbing element was the level of forgiveness the wives showed the “husband” for his bigamy. No one gets a free pass for this strict liability crime.
Scarlet
Scarlet continued to be unhappy in her marriage and career, which included getting arrested for a DUI. Basic message: lawyers are unhappy in marriage and love.
The Secretary
We learned that Deane’s British secretary is in the United States illegally and was upset her boyfriend has gone to Scotland for two years.
The Mayor’s Wife
Deane called upon the Mayor’s wife for help getting Scarlet out of her DUI, with the blunt message the Mayor’s wife wanted an affair with Deane.
Mikki the Harassed Law Student
Mikki stopped being a $500 an hour prostitute and went to law school. While there will be a problem with her bar application at some point, she was terrorized by one of her former clients who was also a lawyer.
Mikki had to call Deane for helping getting the former client to leave her alone. Refreshingly, she stood Deane up on Valentine’s Day.
The Stalker’s Wife
Deane “defeats” the stalker by visiting his wife with a story of how the stalker helped a dying man. The wife is depicted as happy, but very clueless because she places a sex toy out as a decoration, thinking it is art.
Deane’s Conduct
Deane had redeeming actions such as trying to help Mikki and Scarlet, but also obsessive behavior towards his ex-wife, dealing with his own stalker and womanizing.
What Bothered Me
I found this episode to be highly degrading to women, lawyers and lawyers who are women. The message that successful women attorneys are horrible human beings (the DA); that a happy wife is clueless; that the Defendant’s wives would have ANY ounce of forgiveness after their marriage vows and children were betrayed for years; that the Mayor’s wife was eager to betray her marriage; and that a woman attorney is unhappy in her marriage of 15 years. The only woman who tried rising above being a victim was Mikki by the fact she stood up Deane. This simply was a horrible episode in its depiction of men, women and those of us who practice law.
Lawyers have difficult jobs and a large number of recent graduates struggling to find jobs. We have high rates of divorce, substance abuse and suicide. There are those of us who make poor life choices, as with any member of the human race.
We are also the ones who work extremely hard defending the rights of others. It would be nice to see a TV show that does not so brutally misrepresent our profession.
The Insanity Defense on Almost Human
Almost Human continues to impress me. The episode “Beholder,” demonstrated excellent legal issues set against dynamic storytelling.
The story started out as catch the serial killer who is killing “pretty people” by extracting their DNA, causing a heart attack, and then using the victim’s DNA to make himself look more attractive. The episode did not follow the standard formula that the “villain” was evil, but ended with a strong Bladerunner rooftop face-off. I almost expected a Roy type speech of “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”
The “villain” Eric suffered from a psychological disorder where he thought he was not attractive, thus constantly seeking perfection by killing people for their DNA to improve his looks. There is no excuse for murder, but this disorder would be enough for an effective insanity defense. The key element of what must be proven is a mental disease made Eric incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of his act or was incapable of knowing or understanding that his act was morally or legally wrong. 2-3400 CALCRIM 3450.
I think a defense attorney could win on that argument, because Eric was being driven to commit murder because of his illness. This twist made the episode highly dynamic, because it created empathy for someone who had killed nine people. Everything he did was driven by his disease and a desire to be loved by a woman he was exchanging instant messages with. Normally there is no sympathy for a serial killer.
“Beholder” showed perhaps the most physical and computer forensics in the entire season, plus issues of subpenaing third party information. The technology at issue were nano-bots used to collect the DNA. Augmented Reality was also used for holographic reconstructions of the victims, in addition to Dorian acting as both a mobile crime lab and having an AED built into his hands. Facial recognition software was also used to identify the suspect.
I will avoid giving away the other major reveals. In my opinion, this episode touched on significant issues of the human condition, featured excellent examples of technology used in police investigations and presented a great legal issue. Job well done.
Can You Torture a Droid?
Jabba the Hutt likes to have Droids torture other Droids. However, is that even torture?
The law defines “torture” as follows:
Every person who, with the intent to cause cruel or extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion, or for any sadistic purpose, inflicts great bodily injury as defined in Section 12022.7 upon the person of another, is guilty of torture.
The crime of torture does not require any proof that the victim suffered pain.
Cal Pen Code § 206.
“Great bodily injury” means a significant or substantial physical injury. Cal Pen Code § 12022.7(f).
In Return of the Jedi, Jabba’s Palace included a Droid duty assignment office, which doubled as a Droid torture chamber. A Power Droid was hung by his shaking little feet while a hot brand was applied to his feet. The Power Droid screamed “NNNNNOOOO, NNNNOOOO” during the procedure as a guard laughed.
R2D2 was made to watch these events, serving as a form of torture to ensure compliance with the orders of Jabba’s Droid.
The issue whether Jabba unlawfully had Droids tortured in an inhuman house of horrors must overcome an ugly legal issue: Does a Droid have “human rights”? Can a Droid be responsible for torturing another Droid even though the law requires a “person” to commit the act?
Droids are considered property, as evident from Uncle Owen purchasing C3PO and R2D2 from the Jawas in A New Hope (the legality of the purchase is problematic, based on whether the Droids were lost or abandoned property after Princess Leia was captured by Darth Vader). Assuming the purchase was valid, Luke would have been the legal owner of the Droids after his aunt and uncle were killed. Alternatively, the ownership of the Droids could be established as inheritance from his parents, however that is problematic from the passage of time between Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope, unless Captain Antilles was serving as a bailee until the twin Skywalkers were of proper age.
Regardless, Luke Skywalker offered C3PO and R2D2 as a legal gift to Jabba the Hutt. This is further evidence that Droids are merely considered property and do not have “human rights,” because a basic human right is not to be exploited for slavery.
Droids have an odd quality for being property: they have a range of personalities and emotions, including fear or being grumpy. Why build machines that serve as property that experience fear and pain? Such programming begs to introduce a wide range of legal issues on the ethical treatment of Droids.
The law has over a century of statutes and cases protecting animals from cruelty (See, Cal Pen Code § 597 and Yielding v. Ball, 205 Ala. 376, 377 (Ala. 1921)). Moreover, animals such as dogs and cats are considered personal property. Just like a Droid.
Hanging a Power Droid by his feet and burning him would be actions consistent within the protections of Cal Pen Code § 597, which prevents the maliciously and intentionally torture of an animal and Cal Pen Code § 206 as sadistically causing great bodily harm. While a Droid is neither a “person” or an “animal,” a Droid is property like an animal, with a wide range of emotions that both animals and human beings experience. While the law does not specifically include Droids, the great body of law prohibiting torture of humans and animals shows the intent to prohibit the torture of Droids based upon our human values to prevent harm to others.
The fact a Droid carried out Jabba’s torture does not free the Droid or Jabba from prosecution. The “I was just following” orders defense would fall on deaf ears, as Jabba’s Droid knew its actions were causing pain upon the Power Droid and serving as a threat to R2D2. Jabba would be responsible as both the Droid’s owner and as the business owner.