

Star Trek cited by Texas Supreme Court - yayitswei
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/10/star-trek-cited-by-texas-supreme-court/

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DannoHung
So, in case anyone is interested in what the actual ruling was about: A couple
sued the company which purchased the husband's former employer for asbestos
related mesothelioma. The Texas legislature enacted a law which retroactively
indemnified companies from being sued in such cases, most interestingly is
that this couple's suit was the only one which was affected.

The widow (the husband having passed) challenged this ruling as
unconstitutional with regards to the Texas constitution. The judgement handed
down sides with her, though I don't think that a judgement has yet been made
in the original case.

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stretchwithme
That's baloney. The police power flows from the individual's right to defend
his own rights and to cooperate with others to do so.

When the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, the few can
volunteer to help out or the many can offer something to compensate the few
for helping out.

But the many don't have the right to sacrifice the few whenever they decide it
will hurt the few less than it will hurt the many. If anything, the law is all
about opposing mob rule.

Its interesting to note that in the following movie Kirk explains that he went
back to find Spock because the needs of the few sometimes outweigh the needs
of the many.

All this really means is that an individual or a group can decide to help
others when the value of the saved is clearly worth more to themselves than
even a personal loss or even risk to one's own life.

~~~
nkassis
I guess this is all in the constitution as majority rule with minority rights.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few except when the needs of
the few outweigh the needs of the many. :p

~~~
stretchwithme
i think the constitution is more about protecting the rights of all
individuals. There's no weighing to be done there because the rights of one
individual do not conflict with the rights of others. Rights don't require
anyone to be sacrificed.

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SkyMarshal
_"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."_

I always found the reverse, from Star Trek III, more thought-provoking: _The
needs of the few, or the one, outweigh the needs of the many._

While our government is ostensibly decided by the majority, our system also
recognizes and guards the fundamental rights of the minority.

~~~
gnaritas
Only to a point, but there is no right that a large enough majority cannot
take from the minority legally.

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Semiapies
For details on the actual case:

[http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/230714-texas-supreme-
court...](http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/230714-texas-supreme-court-crown-
cork-asbestos-suit-protection-unconstitutional)

Quick sum-up: "Law passed to retroactively protect one company from asbestos
lawsuits deemed bullshit"

Yes indeed, my state's court system can occasionally get something right, and
_very_ occasionally a Team Red judge like Willet will make cogent arguments
and decisions actually based on concepts of limited government.

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DanielBMarkham
_The following news almost makes up for how often I hide my head in shame of
the decisions of the Texas courts._

Sigh. Does everything have to have a political overtone?

If your point is that the judge used Star Trek in order to decide issues of
law, you are mistaken. If your point is that it is silly for the judge, in his
opinion, to refer to popular literature and metaphors, you are also mistaken.

In fact, looks to me from the above quote that the whole article is just an
excuse to use what is a neat example of Trek continuing to have an effect on
the mythos of our age as a stick to beat on Texans, probably because most of
them don't see eye-to-eye with the author.

Perhaps that wasn't diplomatic enough for the author. But, to quote a famous
fictional engineer: "Ah, diplomacy; I adore diplomacy...Diplomacy? The best
diplomat I know of is a fully charged phaser bank!""

Sorry. I just don't like folks using Trek to take swipes at political
affiliation. There are some very good people in Texas of all stripes. This
could have been a much better trivia article if the author could have left out
his little jabs. (And yes, I am assuming sarcasm in the above quote)

~~~
msbarnett
Does being shamed by Texas courts really have a political overtone? I
interpreted that as a reference to the Eastern District of Texas Federal
Court, the preferred venue of patent trolls due to the notoriously
complainant-friendly judges there.

Shame over that mess should know no political boundaries.

~~~
wtallis
Exactly. When a town's economy is significantly dependent on how reliably
biased its courts are, such that hotels and other businesses are sustained by
visiting lawyers, that's a clear sign that the courts are messed up beyond any
political excuse. Trial by jury isn't due process in that town, because an
unbiased jury can't be assembled from its citizens.

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nkassis
I'm glad I'm not the only one that quotes Star Trek all the time. I can tell
my wife and friends that even Judges uses Star Trek to prove points.

Live long and prosper. That should be a ethos for startups.

Also, maybe someday people won't laugh at me when I tell them Star Trek
invented the future.

\--Trekker/ie

