Chaires, Robert H., and Bradley Chilton, eds. Star Trek Visions of Law and Justice.

• Author: Garcia, Cheryl Crozier
• Position: Book review

Chaires, Robert H., and Bradley Chilton, eds. Star Trek Visions of Law and Justice. Dallas, TX: Adios Press, 2003. 296 pages. Paper, $16.95.

Readers expecting mere fan fiction or a collection of episode synopses will be disappointed by this book, which examines the legal and social systems faced by modern U.S. courts by applying the legal systems and jurisprudence of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Social justice, gender and racial equality, property rights, minority rights, and other important legal debates are considered within the context of four Star Trek television series: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek Voyager. The editors have collected an impressive set of essays which use the future envisioned by Gene Roddenberry and the writers and actors of the Star Trek franchises to discuss the challenges faced by present-day communities. The editors' premise is that the world of Star Trek is a reasonable vantage point from which current legal challenges may be examined. The futuristic species, characters, and situations chronicled in the various television series allow people to think about and discuss the issues faced by present-day communities without having to overcome preconceived notions or biases. Essentially, these outer-space "morality plays" are spotlights which illuminate present-day human foibles and imperfections, while engendering hope that, flawed as they now may be, people can and do improve--eventually. This book is an anthology of thirteen articles examining various aspects of international law. They are deeply researched from both their legal and fictional perspectives: Each article presents an aspect of law and finds precedents in several Star Trek episodes across all four series to build an argument for how such...