Cardassia is a fictional planet in the Star Trek universe ruled by a totalitarian state with a court system quite similar to our own. Trials on Cardassia do not to examine the charges against the accused since a guilty verdict is foreordained. The defendant is assigned an attorney called a "public conservator" whose role is not to represent the interests of his client, but rather to assure "the productive functioning of our courts."

"I'm here to help you concede the wisdom of the state, to prepare you to accept the inevitable with equanimity," one conservator explained to a bemused client unfamiliar with the system. "Whatever you've done, whatever the charges against you, none of that really matters in the long run…. This trial is to demonstrate the futility of behavior contrary to good order. Everyone will find it most uplifting."

The federal conspiracy trial of Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five of their associates was supposed to follow the Cardassian script – but the prosecutors lost the plot when they encountered defendants they couldn't bluff or bully, defense attorneys who conscientiously represented their clients, and a jury that demanded actual proof of the charges being considered.

After spending $12 million plundered from tax victims, US Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams had to wallow in his own failure when the jury acquitted the defendants of all charges but one (it deadlocked on a theft of government property charge against Ryan Bundy). This was not jury nullification – the act of refusing to apply an unjust law, or setting aside a legitimate law because of exceptional circumstances.

Had the prosecution sought a conviction on trespassing charges, it would have won – but Williams and his minions arrogantly assumed that it wouldn't be necessary to prove every element of its case. They mistakenly believed that they were putting on a show trial, but the jury wasn't on the same page.

In search of consolation, the armored geldings from the US Marshals Service assaulted and briefly detained defense attorney Marcus Mumford when he impudently reminded trial, Judge Anna Brown, that in the absence of the proper warrant all of the defendants were free to leave.

"I said `if the marshals have something to say about it let's see what orders they have, let's see what papers they have to take [them] into custody again,'"Mumford told the media following the assault. "Next thing I know they took a hold of me and [were] talking about how I was resisting arrest. They were twisting my legs and put me to the ground and then they tased me."

One of Mumford's putative colleagues in the criminal defense bar apparently believes that he deserved a beating.

"It's a good result from the defense lawyer viewpoint," sneered attorney Bob Reid in an email to Mumford and his colleagues following the not-guilty verdicts. "You all stood up to the overly arrogant prosecution and outplayed them, which is your job, and you did that very well.""But don't drink the Kool-Aid which the defendants have been drinking," Reid continued. These defendants "are not `good guys'…. Take your victory and feel great – you deserve it – but remember what it is, and what it isn't."