Legal Sci-Fi?

Funnily enough, I was just wondering if there are some good stories that deal with legal issues/court cases/etc in a fantasy setting.

As for sci fi... I remember once reading a novel where the state of California puts an alien on trial for murder, and the alien gets defended by a celebrity lawyer. Much of the book focused on the trial. Can't remember the title, sorry. Or even if it was any good.

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, by Harry Turtledove examines the environmental enforcement problems of a society that depends upon magic instead of industry. The main character is a federal inspector who is wondering why there have been so many cases of infants born without souls in the vicinity of a spell dumpground.

A great story---people fly around on magic carpets which have their own traffic laws. People talk on telephones that use imps contained within the instrument to relay messages in your ear.

It deals with legal environmental issues in a truly strange and wondrous world.

Regards,
Scott

What about the series 'Alien Nation' It has an alien/human cop partners working the streets of LA.

raelwv said:

Given my day job, I'm interested in reading some sci-fi that deals with legal issues in various sci-fi settings. Can anybody point me towards any books/stories like that?

Thanks,

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Bujold does a fair amount as a back drop for her military/space opera books a out Miles Vorkosigan.

rosemerry said:

What about the series 'Alien Nation' It has an alien/human cop partners working the streets of LA.

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Ooooooh, Alien Nation.

Another DVD set on my Wish List. There is a series of seven novels based on the show, as well. I've read some of them, and they are fairly decent for tie-in's. Especially "Slag Like Me." You can probably find them on eBay, if interested.

Going back to the "classic" era, how about Gladiator-at-law by Frederick Pohl?

beezle said:

...As for sci fi... I remember once reading a novel where the state of California puts an alien on trial for murder, and the alien gets defended by a celebrity lawyer...

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Actually, the charge was child molestation and... nevermind. Sorry. Different alien.

Zing.

Ha.

Diane Duane's Stealing the Elf King's Roses is a fantasy police procedural. Not the same as a legal story, I know; courts and lawyers not involved. But interesting.

But... yeah huh, I'm mostly drawing a blank. That's kind of interesting.

Well, I could if my sci-fi series ever gets picked up.

Setting it about sixty years in the future, not only with added tech but added human potential, I've come up with a bunch of legal backstory to include Supreme Court decisions regarding the constitutionality of forced genetic testing and registration of metahumans. Even created an entire new governmental department concerned *only* with the implementation and enforcement of metahuman regulations.

And yeah, the main characters are mostly all agents of this government entity.

Rabe...

Judge Dredd stuff.

Check out http://www.scifan.com and go the themes dropdown list about halfway down the page. It has books listed by what you want.

Just remembered. Marissa Lingen has a legal SF short story, Fair Use. S'not my favourite of her stories but it's interesting.