Object

Captain Louvois's Formal Ruling

A crisp Starfleet ruling printed on heavy cream stationery, topped by an embossed delta and formal header, filled with dense legal prose and Louvois's signature block. Picard turns the page and reads the cold, precise sentences aloud in the Ready Room; the document's tone is bureaucratic and immutable, and its presence physically shifts the room as Data and the officers absorb its implications.

3 appearances

Purpose

To record and communicate an official Starfleet determination declaring Data Starfleet property and legally preventing his resignation; to function as an enforceable administrative ruling within Starfleet procedure.

Significance

Functions as the narrative catalyst that converts institutional denial into a legal battleground: it strips Data of autonomy on paper, forces Picard to initiate a hearing, and frames the moral struggle over personhood as a courtroom and bureaucratic conflict.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Picard Frames the Hearing — Vowing to Defend Data

The printed formal ruling is the catalytic document whose contents are read aloud; it functions narratively as the cause of the conflict, transforming an administrative decision into a personal crisis for Data and a legal case for Picard.

Before: On Picard's desk, present as a heavy legal artifact awaiting communication.

After: Held implicit by Picard's reading and positioned on the desk as the objectified source of the upcoming hearing.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Louvois's Ruling — Data Declared Starfleet Property

The formal printed ruling (Louvois's document) is the textual source of the declaration that Data is Starfleet property; its cold prose is the catalyst for the moral response and the promise of a hearing.

Before: In Picard's possession or loaded into the reader; present on the desk as authoritative stationery.

After: Remains under Picard's control on the desk or in his files, now the basis for initiating the hearing process.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Vow and Trust: Picard Secures a Hearing to Defend Data

Although not physically read aloud in the scene, Captain Louvois's Formal Ruling is the textual source that validates the reader's message and gives legal weight to the claim that Data is property; it underpins Picard's announcement and the legal hearing he invokes.

Before: Existently filed or transmitted to the Enterprise as a formal ruling; its contents are known to Picard and form the basis for his statement.

After: Remains the operative legal instrument whose consequences have just been invoked; it will serve as documentary evidence for the hearing Picard announces.

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