"Court Martial" is the twentieth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. It was written by Don M. Mankiewicz and Steven W. Carabatsos, directed by Marc Daniels, and first aired on February 2, 1967. In the episode, Captain Kirk stands trial on charges of criminal negligence after jettisoning an occupied research pod during an emergency. Plot The USS Enterprise is at Starbase 11 for repairs after an ion storm. During the storm, Captain James T. Kirk was forced to eject a research pod containing Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Finney to prevent the destruction of the ship. A search party was unable to find Finney. Commodore Stone, commander of the base, reviews the ship's records and discovers that Kirk ejected the pod while the ship was at Yellow Alert and not Red Alert as Kirk claimed. Stone accuses Kirk of perjury and warns him that he may be subject to court martial. Stone first interviews Kirk privately, asking about his history with Finney. Kirk had served with Finney aboard the USS Republic and reported a mistake Finney had made, causing Finney to be reprimanded and sent to the bottom of the promotion list. Ever since, Finney has blamed Kirk for hindering his advancement. Stone asks Kirk to voluntarily step down as captain of the Enterprise, but Kirk disputes the allegations and demands a trial. At the trial, both Spock and Dr. McCoy defend Kirk's character, but testify to the facts that Kirk had reason to resent Finney and it is impossible for the ship's computer log to be wrong. Finney's daughter Jame looks on. Samuel T. Cogley, Kirk's attorney, puts him on the stand, but again, Kirk's testimony contradicts the computer logs, which include a visual recording that shows Kirk ejecting the pod while the ship was on Yellow Alert. During a recess, Kirk tells Spock that he might be able to beat his next captain at chess, giving Spock an idea. Mr. Spock discovers that he is able to beat the Enterprise computer several times at three dimensional chess, despite having given the computer all his knowledge of the game. He concludes that the computer has been tampered with as his best outcome should have been a draw. Spock arrives with his findings before the court-martial verdict can be handed down, and Cogley, makes an impassioned speech on the rights of man versus the