Tribunal

Above, a Moclan jury hears the case of Klyden and Bortus.

What's Tribunal? Like take it to court?"
"In a manner of speaking.— Ed Mercer and Bortus

A Moclan tribunal (The World of the Orville: Moclan Council; Admiral Perry: trial) was a court institution on the planet Moclus with the authority to judge or determine claims or disputes. The court held jurisdiction over all Moclans and Moclus, but not over other species or member planets of the Planetary Union.

Description

An arbitrator presides over Tribunal as the authority of law within the court and a jury of peers, the arbitration council, serves as the finder of fact. Juries appoint a foreman to lead deliberations and voice their verdict to the court. Adversarial parties are represented by advocates before the court. To represent a party, an advocate needs no qualifications other than the assent of the party.

Tribunal may be conducted on relatively short notice: in the episode About a Girl, Tribunal is organized within two weeks, held over several days, and the verdict carried out within 12 hours.

During inquiry, parties have the chance to examine and cross-examine witnesses and expert witnesses, and introduce evidence. Unlike American courtrooms (where evidence must be carefully vetted through discovery and pre-trial motions, and evidence that is not introduce before trial is excluded from trial), evidence is presumed admissible unless otherwise objected to and surprise witnesses may be called with no notice given to adversely-affected parties. After all evidence and witnesses are called, the jury is given time to deliberate and reach a verdict.

Additionally, tribunal rooms provide seating to interested members of the public.

Cases

Sex reassignment of Topa

See also: About a Girl

In October 2419, Klyden seeks sex reassignment for Topa, but his mate Bortus disagrees and seeks a permanent injunction from a tribunal on Moclus.

An arbitrator presides over Tribunal. Klyden is represented by Advocate Kagus; Bortus by Commander Kelly Grayson of the USS Orville.

Kagus begins his inquiry by calling Bortus to the stand and asks him questions leading to the point that the child will be an outcast in society if she is to remain female.

For her inquiry, Grayson first calls the Xelayan Lieutenant Alara Kitan and instructs Kitan to mold a cube of titanium (the Arbitrator's gavel) into a sphere. Kagus admits no Moclan could accomplish such a feat of strength, but contends that a Xelayan male is twice as strong. Second, Grayson calls Lieutenant Gordon Malloy and asks him a series of simple questions that he cannot answer to show that not all males are superior or even equal to the intelligence of all females.

Heveena becomes a surprise witness at trial when she reveals herself to be the author Gondus Elden.

With Grayson's inquiry complete, it is again Kagus' turn. He calls Doctor Claire Finn and has her affirm that "gender alteration" without consent is presumed unethical. Kagus then asks Captain Ed Mercer (in public seating) if circumcision is thus unethical. Mercer responds that only alterations that are "significant" are presumed unethical.

Under the instruction of Mercer, Grayson appeals for a brief recess while Mercer, Kitan, and Lieutenant John LaMarr procure evidence for their case. Two hours later, the trio returns with a fourth: a Moclan female named Heveena. She testifies about her life as a female on Moclus and reveals herself to be the person behind the name Gondus Elden, an extremely influential author.

Within inquiries completed, the Arbitrator grants 12 hours to the jury to deliberate and reach a verdict. The jury returns, and an Moclan Council Foreman announces that there was not sufficient cause to grant an injunction. Sex reassignment of Topa is carried out within a day.

Criminal case of Locar

In either December 2420 or January 2421, Locar, an engineer in the Moclan Fleet, appears before a tribunal for the crimes of heterosexuality and framing Klyden for his own murder. He is convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Production

The courtroom battle played a pivotal role in the episode About a Girl and, therefore, the show's creative team was particularly concerned with making a "theatrical" Tribunal. "A courtroom is like a theater, in a way," noted cinematographer Marvin Rush. "With the Moclans, you imagine somebody who's in love with industry to the point where pollution's not a problem because industry wins... They have a very hard-edged, extreme view of gender, and in the courtroom case we see a chink in their armor, a flaw in their thinking that's exposed in [the trial]."

Staging the episode on a Tribunal was, in effect, a way to keep The Orville unique each episode. Executive producer David A. Goodman recalled that "one of Seth [MacFarlane]'s goals was he wanted a show where you didn't know what it was going to be every week - you could have a funny straight comedy one week, a heavy dramatic episode one week, a courtroom battle one week...."

Appearances

• Episode 1x03: About a Girl
• Episode 2x05: All the World is Birthday Cake (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x07: Deflectors