Templeman nodded, "So we have a father, that goes above and beyond for his children... in the terrible situation of having to resort to acts of desperation in order to feed them..."
He strode across to his briefcase and undid the old style clasp, pulling out a hefty book and a pair of half-moon glasses.
"This is a tome of Rhienland law that goes back to before the exodus from Sol. This book of law is a founding codex that compromise the existing legal system in this great state."
He cleared his throat "Desperation as a Mitigating factor is defined as: those who benefit more from the theft than the risk-adjusted punishment by the law." he looked up from the book. "In simple terms, The threat of a single individual who might steal a ship can motivate many people to install security measures at considerable expense to themselves. Its individually rational from their perspective, insuring against the risk of theft. But if everyone took that money and gave it to the prospective thief, we could probably leave our doors open..."
He shrugged, "it gives us all something to think about... I mean The criminal is only a threat because he stands to benefit so much from the crime due to his desperation. He has no reasonable alternatives."
"Objection..." the prosecution rose. "The defense counsel is trying to educate the jury on procedural law... this isn't a question and should be disregarded..."
"On the contrary, your honour," Templeman turned to the judge. "I need to put the core issue into perspective for not just the jury, but for the witness as well. We are talking about the fundamental right of a person to eat, to live, to work... and god alone knows, he deserves that right."
"The defendant has already pleaded guilty, why are we proceeding on with this farce?" the prosecutor protested.
"Because," Templeman turned angrily, a flash in his eyes. "We are talking about the law, and the law is more than the sum of the words on a page. It has a spirit, it has a meaning... if we stray away from that meaning, if we loose ourselves in words and letters of law, and forget that spirit... then why are we here at all? Why do we need lawyers, judges, or juries?"
The Judge banged the gavel, "Mister Templeman, you will restrain yourself in this courtroom!"
"Your honour!" Templeman snapped, swinging around. "I took an oath to defend my client..."
The Judge banged the gavel again, "Mister Templeman, this is a court of law, not a three ringed circus. I will not have you parading around like... like..."
"A circus clown?" Templeman offered.
The judge banged the hammer harder, snarling at him. "You will control yourself, or I will find you in contempt."
Templeman snapped the book closed, "Of course your honour. I will constrain myself to the question at hand. Doctor, can you tell us, in your medical opinion, what happened to Mister Naggar's daughter out on the frontier?"
"Objection, relevance?"
Templeman turned, "it goes to motive, your honour."
"Proceed..." the judge said. "But remember you are on thin ice..."
"It is a good thing I know how to skate then," Templeman shot back. "Go ahead doctor, tell us what state Doreen was in when she was brought to you."
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