Let’s face it, no one is as smooth talking with the ladies as Lando Calrissian. Despite Lando’s ability to impress a woman with, “You truly belong here with us among the clouds,” Lando’s sweet talk is not enough charm to the Empire into permitting mining rights on private property on Lothal.
Mining (on Earth) is a regulated activity, even on private property. There is substantial legislation about applying for permits to mine on public land or how to establish a claim.
On Lothal, the Empire continues to endear itself to the population by prohibiting mining on private property. In the United States, mining on private property (that is supposed to be a mine) does require permits in virtually every state. Moreover, the regulation of mining activities, such as requiring a permit, is not a “taking” of private property under the Fifth Amendment. M & J Coal Co. v United States, 47 F3d 1148, 1149 [Fed Cir 1995].
Why does the government regulate mining on private property? Health and public safety are obvious concerns. Neighbors are not thrilled when potentially hazardous materials become airborne and land on surrounding private property. Moreover, no one wants their neighbor blasting a new mine in a residential neighborhood on the argument, “It’s my property, I do what I want with TNT.”
Lothal provides a very different case study where the Empire has outright prohibited all mining on private property. If there had been existing mines that were prohibited from operation, suspending those pre-existing mining rights would be a “taking” of private property in the United States. Those miners should have been entitled to just compensation for their lost property rights. However, filing any such claims likely would have been treason, resulting in the property owner being sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel.
That being said, let’s not forget the important thing: We got to hear Billy Dee Williams voice Lando Calrissian. You old space pirate, it was good to see you.
We live in an age of miracles: 2014 was a fantastic time to be a geek. Jess and I sat down with some of our great friends to discuss Scandal, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the best action scenes from 2014, and Star Wars Rebels.
Join us as we visit with Vivian O’Barski from The Learned Fangirl, Political Consultant and Novelist Gerry O’Brien, Jessica Bennett, stunt woman, actor, and educator, and Judge Judge Matthew Sciarrino, on all things geek in 2014.
The answer is YES. Judge Matthew Sciarrino joined Jessica and I to discuss the teaser trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens. If you remember IOU’s for Star Wars toys and have already requested December 19, 2015 off from work, then you will enjoy what Judge Sciarrino has to say about the new Star Wars teaser trailer.
The Star Wars Rebels episode “Fighter Flight” touched on two important legal issues: Eminent Domain and Reckless Flying. Let’s explore each.
We Are No Longer Interested in Buying Your Farm
The Empire demanded a farmer sell his property to the Empire. The amount for the property is never disclosed. After refusing the Empire’s offer to buy the farm, the Empire destroyed the farmer’s house with an armed transport. The farmer and his family were then arrested for their failure to sell their property to the Empire.
In the United States, when the government takes private property for public use it is called “Eminent Domain.” The government “may acquire and hold real property in any state, whenever such property is needed for use of government in execution of any of its powers, and when it cannot be acquired by voluntary arrangement with owners, it may be taken in exercise of power of eminent domain.” Van Brocklin v Tennessee (1886) 117 US 151.
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is intended to limit the power of the United States in taking property from its citizens for public use. United States v Lee (1882) 106 US 196, (superseded by statute as stated in Block v North Dakota (1983) 461 US 273).
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that the government cannot take private property for public use without “just compensation” to the property owners.
In the case of the Empire, if a farmer refuses to sell his farm, he is charged with treason and arrested. These actions are more in line with Stalin’s Soviet Union than a Republic.
Let’s Go Fly a Tie
Zeb and Ezra stole a Tie Fighter while resisting arrest for attempting to steal fruit from the Empire. Zeb’s initial flight in the Tie Fighter included a low speed buzzing of a farmer’s market in a street fair, complete with firing the ship’s cannons at a fruit stand, resulting in its destruction.
On Earth, and in the United States specifically, flying aircraft is a highly regulated activity, requiring licensing, controlled airspace, and minimum altitude requirements.
States such as Wisconsin have specific laws prohibiting reckless flying:
No person may operate an aircraft in the air or on the ground or water in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another. In determining whether the operation was careless or reckless the court shall consider the standards for safe operation of aircraft prescribed by federal statutes or regulations governing aeronautics.
Wis. Stat. § 114.09.
In-flight activities that can endanger the lives of others include:
Any person who ‘buzzes’, dives on, or flies in close proximity to a farm, home, any structure, vehicle, vessel, or group of persons on the ground.
A pilot who engages in careless or reckless flying and who does not own the aircraft which he is flying unduly endangers the aircraft, the property of another.
The operation of aircraft at an insufficient altitude endangers persons or property on the surface or passengers within the aircraft. Such flight may also constitute a violation of 60.107.
Acrobatic Flight. No person shall engage in acrobatic flight:
Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface.
Minimum Safe Altitudes. Except when necessary for take off or landing, no person shall operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
Anywhere. An altitude which will permit, in the event of the failure of a power unit, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
Zeb’s flight down the street would technically be “buzzing” near structures (the buildings) and people on the ground (the merchant farmers). Moreover, as the Tie Fighter was the property of the Empire, this would be hijacking and endangering the aircraft in flight. Furthermore, the low altitude flight endangered people on the ground, specifically those near structures hit by the Tie Fighter, or those threatened by weapons fire.
The Empire has a totalitarian judicial system where any crime seems to be treason punishable by death. As such, while Zeb did commit a crime, the Empire is not exactly a model society predicated on freedom with proportional punishment.
Tie Fighter Photo by Judge Matthew Sciarrino from his collection.
Star Wars Rebels is a fantastic feeling of stepping back into Star Wars in 1977. Hats off for creating the same feeling of awe in discovering the Force, the view of a Tie Fighter Pilot in the cockpit, and Storm Troopers missing at point blank range. We even have Ezra yell, “It’s a trap!” Well done.
Rebels is an excellent look at the laws of the Empire.
Sure, the Imperials have a great sense of fashion, but it is a nightmarish legal system.
In the opening minutes of “Spark of the Rebellion,” we see a merchant farmer harassed by Imperial officers, because “all trade must be registered with the Empire.”
After being knocked to the ground, with an inspection officer eating some of the farmer’s fruit, the merchant is charged with treason.
A government has a very strong interest in regulating sales of food to ensure it is fit for human consumption and proper sales licenses. However, charging someone with treason for not filling out forms for street sales of fruit is nightmarish. At best this should be a county fine, not a firing squad by a militarized Department of Agriculture.
Our Rebel heroes stole blasters and other items from the Empire. This act would not just be grand theft, violate a ton of gun-related laws, but also terrorism in arming the residents of Tarken Town (who likely had they property taken in Eminent Domain proceedings without just compensation). However, the entire heist provides a huge look into the Empire’s law enforcement procedures.
The Empire does not use a police force, but its military to conduct law enforcement. While the Rebels did steal the crates from Storm Troopers, the responses to the theft was ordering an air strike to end a high speed chase. By way of comparison, police helicopters are not armed with air-to-surface missiles to fire on anyone fleeing from a crime scene.
We also learn the “Kessel Mines” are slave labor camps for political prisoners of the Empire. The fact there are slave labor camps for “traitors” makes the Empire sound a lot like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and every other totalitarian country. It is likely the Wookiees sent to Kessel were not tried for their “crimes” and merely sentenced administratively by the arresting officer (perhaps for indecent exposure). The Empire is a government without any sense of due process, because if there was, any good lawyer would defend those Wookiees with the Chewbacca Defense.
I have hit the milestone that always seemed like a far distant future: I turned 40.
While my feelings on my age are very reflective of Admiral Kirk in Wrath of Khan, I have lived in one of the best eras of geekdom EVER.
Being a geek means you appreciate the symbolism from the stories you love. Many of us love to quote films. We know the value of a moment in time. We also know that moments in time can be lost like tears in the rain, but for everyone who is a geek, we know that this, this is our time.
Let’s take a look at what I think are the best geek moments of the last 40 years:
Roll Out of Space Shuttle Enterprise (September 17, 1975)
The Space Shuttle Enterprise at the National Air & Space Museum Annex at Dulles International Airport in 2008.
The Space Shuttle Enterprise was rolled out on my first birthday. This event is a testament to how much people love Star Trek, as it was the fans that inspired NASA to name the test Shuttle Enterprise.
The 747 glide and landing tests of Enterprise paved the way for the first flight of the Columbia in 1981. I had the privilege of seeing the roll out of Columbia, because my father was in charge of the team that installed the tiles.
Roll out of Columbia.
Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
A substantial part of my childhood was spent either watching Star Wars, or running around the backyard with my Y-Wing Fighter, or having light saber fights with my brother. Granted, I was so young when I saw the original Star Wars, I had confused memories in my early years of wondering where I saw a double sunset.
Battlestar Galactica (Debuted on my birthday in 1978)
What better birthday present for a four year old then spaceships and robots fighting?
The original Battlestar Galactica was an outright rejection of detente with the Soviet Union or pacifist leaders. Even the doomed Colonies President looked like Jimmy Carter, whose dovish policies resulted in the near destruction of humanity. Political overtones aside, Donald Bellisario created elements in Battlestar that would later be seen in Quantum Leap.
The 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica was not a reflection of Cold War politics, but the War on Terror. Lots of great issues and effectively ends with the opening quote of the original series: “There are those who believe that life here, began out there.”
Superman the Movie (1978)
Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve proved a comic book character could be a colossal box office hit. Without Superman the Movie, there would have been no Spider-Man, Iron Man, Avengers, or Guardians of the Galaxy. Add in a “super” movie score, and the bar was set for super-hero movies in 1978.
Star Blazers (Debuted on my birthday in 1979)
Battleships. In space. With a theme song that said, If we can win the Earth will survive.
Sold.
Star Blazers introduced a lot of “adult” concepts on a children’s TV show. Little things like genocide of the human race through nuclear war.
Captain Avatar’s dying words, as he looked at a picture of his dead son and irradiated Earth through his tears, echoed in my five year old mind for years: “The Earth. I am sorry I will not be here to see you green again. But I have seen you.” [Picture falls to the deck, Doctor comes in the stateroom and salutes his dead Captain.]
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
My mother took me to see Empire on opening day. We sat out on a beach blanket at the now gone Century 21 movie theaters in San Jose waiting hours in line. I can still remember the heat of that day in May 1980. She loved telling the story of how my feet stopped at the edge of the seat and for the length of the film, I did not move or blink. The audience reacting in total horror and shock of Darth Vader saying, “No, IAMYOUR FATHER,” is perhaps one of the most iconic moments in film.
Empire also taught us life does not always have a happy ending. Sometimes, you just survive to live another day.
Superman 2 (1980)
Kneel before Zod! Kneel!
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
We are simply passing through history. This, this is history.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas brought the classic adventures of the 1930s back in full force, while fighting Nazis, and finding the Ark of the Covenant. Moreover, you are hard pressed to find a living male who did not want to be Indiana Jones.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
I remember going home from seeing Wrath of Khan, looking out the car window at the night sky, trying not to cry.
The Wrath of Khan has an impressive list of life lessons, from facing a no-win scenario, the challenge of aging, redemption of parents, and sacrificing yourself to save your friends, because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott’s science fiction epic has many dynamic questions on being human. Roy Batty’s final words always captivated me: 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 Tannhäuser Gate. All those … moments will be lost in time, like tears…in rain. Time to die.
The fact Roy Batty let Deckard live added a surreal complexity to the film’s villain, posing the theory that Batty had loved life more than he had before dying, which is why he did not kill the hero.
Return of the Jedi (1983)
I have very fond memories of seeing Return of the Jedi opening weekend. There was a sense of awe. People cheered when Vader threw the Emperor down the exhaust shaft.
And Vader did not yell “Nooooo” in 1983.
Star Trek III: Search for Spock (1984)
Sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. Search for Spock had wonderful symbolism of loyalty between friends. The crew of the Enterprise was willing to destroy their careers in order to save two of their friends. The end result was another lesson in changing the definition of victory, when you have to destroy your own ship to save everyone.
Plus kick the bad guy off a cliff into lava.
Ghostbusters
I ain’t afraid of no ghost.
One of the most entertaining geek movies ever. One of the main villains is also the EPA and government regulations, proving not all evil spirits are undead.
Back to the Future
I remember seeing Back to the Future with my paternal grandparents in Ann Arbor, Michigan when the movie came out. A wonderful story with reckless driving, treason, collaborating with terrorists, and defense of others.
Man, this is heavy.
TimeCon 1985 & 1986
My first “geek” convention was TimeCon in 1985, celebrating Star Trek, Doctor Who, and a whole lot of science fiction. We got to meet James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, and Anthony Anthony.
Stark Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1986 was a year when Star Trek went mainstream with The Voyage Home. A great story that caught the attention of a much broader audience than traditional science fiction fans.
We also had a very short trial for our heroes. While they did have a solid necessity defense for stealing the Enterprise, sabotaging Excelsior, and destroying the Enterprise, they went with a guilty plea.
Aliens (1986)
Game over man. 17 days, we won’t last 17 hours.
Exhibit A you can have a science fiction blockbuster with a strong female lead. Bring on Captain Marvel.Agent Carter cannot get here fast enough.
Terminator 2
Come with me if you want to live.
Exhibit B that that you can have a strong female lead.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Steven Spielberg brought dinosaurs to life with both CGI and practical special effects.
A real game changer in film making.
Moreover, if you can create an extinct species, is it automatically on the endangered list?
1990s Science Fiction on Television
Star Trek the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, X-Files, and Babylon 5 were all shows I watched weekly. I gave shows like Earth Final Conflict, Space Above & Beyond, Tek Wars, and Lexx, a chance, but never got into them.
X-Men (2000)
The first X-Men movie brought back comic book movies as a viable box office success. After years of defeat, from Superman the Quest for Peace to Howard the Duck,X-Men was a fun adaption of our favorite mutants.
Until X-Men: Last Stand destroyed it, then X-Men: First Class saved it, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, put us back on the right track.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Peter Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien to life. The fact Return of the King won Best Picture and Jackson took home Best Director, demonstrated “sci fi” and “fantasy” films could clean house at the Oscars.
Spider-Man (2002)
The first two Spider-Man movies again showed comic book movies could be successful. And then Spider-Man 3 torpedoed the franchise.
Firefly (2002)
What happens when you have an amazing show that is a creative adventure of a steampunk Western in Space where being a “Companion” is a respected career choice? You get cancelled after a dozen episodes (or fourteen counting the two unaired ones). Firefly suffered that initial fate, but because of its incredible fan base, developed cult status and spawned one movie.
You can’t stop the signal.
The Dark Knight Trilogy
Batman Begins, the Dark Knight, and Dark Knight Rises, again demonstrate comic book movies have depth and box office success. Sure, watching all three in a row can be highly traumatic, but an action-packed tour de force. Never mind Gotham looks like a fictional city, then Chicago, and then New York.
Marvel’s Civil War
I started re-collecting comics after many years because of Civil War. A very gripping story that walked the tight rope of making both sides look right, whether you supported the Registration Act or thought it looked like a massive civil rights violation.
The story’s ending with Captain America’s assassination and following shock waves in Fallen Son and James Barns/Winter Soldier ultimately becoming Captain America were fantastic.
I actually had to get Captain America #25 in Canada. Not one the local comic book stores had the big issue of Cap’s death and I was lucky to get the last issue in Vancouver on a business trip.
DC’s Sinestro War & Blackest Night
The Sinestro War in Green Lantern was a stunning war story that ultimately turned on the Green Lanterns shifting from law enforcement to war-making when the Guardians gave the Green Lantern Corps permission to kill members of the Sinestro Corps. The war is won, but at a cost that ultimately lead to the Blackest Night.
DC delivered again with Blackest Night, where death itself declared war on life. Heroes and villains alike are brutally killed by dead characters who rip out the hearts of the living. There were actually disturbing deaths before the battle was turned in the heroes’ favor.
There many symbolic moments of how the different Lanterns interacted, such as only the Blue Lantern representing Hope could calm the Red Lantern represent rage, or that Compassion was the rarest of all the Power Rings.
Star Trek (2009)
JJ Abrams brought Star Trek back after years of being off the air and the big screen. The return of Star Trek also showed a new era in science fiction film making, because fans who grew up watching the show and movies, are now making the movies.
The Entire Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel movies have set the gold standard for comic book adaptions. They range in depth from political thrillers like Captain America The Winter Soldier to a rip-roaring good times of Guardians of the Galaxy. I look forward to their future films.
The Day of the Doctor
Doctor Who for decades was watched on late night PBS in the United States. The fact the 50th Anniversary special was a global simulcast that broke world records stands as testament that being a “geek” is now mainstream. Also factor in the 3D showings in one night that had fans from five decades dressing up and cheering is just wicked cool.
That Time Being a Geek Helped Save My Life
On February 21, 1990, my bowel ruptured as a result of being undiagnosed with Crohn’s Disease for five years. What followed included nearly 70 days in two hospitals, three surgeries, and a whole lot of pain.
I spent my days in the hospital watching Star Trek and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I also read Tom Clancy’s Clear & Present Danger. My wonderful grandmother set out to find Stephen Coonts’ third book The Minotaur. I had to know what happened after Final Flight.
My very kind godmother worked some magic with her sister, a florist in Beverly Hills, who through several contacts asked Leonard Nimoy to send me a get well card. Being an outstanding human being, Nimoy delivered.
I was lucky to meet Leonard Nimoy in 2009 at a conference and thank him for sending me a get well card back in 1990.
Life is the Greatest Adventure
My first 40 years have been a great adventure.
I have seen two Space Shuttle launches, watched dolphins illuminated by bioluminescent plankton swim around a tall ship, borrowed aircraft carriers and battleships, and have traveled from Anchorage to Saint Thomas. There are many more adventures to have and I look forward to the days ahead.
Darth Vader had a very forceful way of getting the information he wanted from people. From the opening scenes of Episode IV, we learned Vader thrived on choking others. Moreover, orders such as, “Commander, tear this ship apart until you’ve found those plans, and bring me the passengers. I want them alive!” do not endear him as someone who is not above using any means to get the answers he wants.
Episode IV included a scene where Princess Leia faced a floating droid that appeared ready inject her with a truth serum.
Would that be legal under our laws?
I Have A Bad Feeling About This
The Empire and its Doctrine of Fear is not one that would protect civil rights. Its very founding was based on “security” to protect its “citizens,” not one of freedom.
Could a Republic, be it the United States or the Old Republic, force confessions from prisoners with truth serum?
The Fifth Amendment gives everyone the right in the United States to NOT “be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Moreover, the long line of cases following Miranda go to advise people of their right to remain silent, and the right to counsel, if they have been arrested.
One of the most extreme cases involving forced confessions was from 1936, where the Supreme Court referred to an extracted confession through brutal torture as “revolting to the sense of justice.” Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, 286 (1936).
Truth serums administered to prisoners uniformly have been found to violate the law. Courts often refer to such compelled confessions as “police wrongdoing.” Colo. v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 165 (U.S. 1986), citing Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 298-299 (U.S. 1963).
Montana Supreme Court Justice Harrison held in State v. Allies that confessions made under the influence of a “truth serum” was not voluntary. State v. Allies, 186 Mont. 99, 115 (Mont. 1979). As the Court explained:
The pivotal issue presented here is whether the results of the sodium amytal (popularly known as truth serum) test are admissible where the recipient was without benefit or advice of counsel and had not received a Miranda warning immediately preceding the administration of the serum. We find they are not. The overwhelming weight of authority in this country still regards truth serum tests as inadmissible inasmuch as they have not attained the scientific acceptance as reliable and accurate means of ascertaining truth or deception.
Allies, at *114.
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, – See more at: http://constitution.laws.com/5th-amendment#sthash.cQfK9nLu.dpuf
or shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, – See more at: http://constitution.laws.com/5th-amendment#sthash.cQfK9nLu.dpuf
Many Courts will not allow any truth serum results or expert testimony over truth serum results from expert witnesses, until it is proven with “verifiable certainty that truth serum compels a person to tell the truth.” Harper v. State, 249 Ga. 519, 526 (Ga. 1982).
What does this mean for Darth Vader and Governor Tarkin ordering Leia to be injected with a truth serum? First, Vader is not getting a Father’s Day card. Second, it would not be legal in a country like the United States, which highlights the dangers of a society founded on security instead of freedom. Third, the truth serum was not effective, as Leia did not provide the location of the Rebel Base or Plans.
