The Federation of Ascenia v. Xolar Xar'noth

Federation v. Xar'noth (full title:The Federation of Ascenia v. Xolar Xar'noth) was a 2282 federal criminal trial held in the Supreme Court of Justice in The Citadel, in which the Eugizi leader of the Crimson Sabres pirate gang, Xolar Xar'noth, was charged with nineteen criminal offenses, including organized piracy, spaceship hijacking resulting in death, trafficking of sentient species, unlawful possession of cargo, and gross interference with interstellar trade. Xar'noth was indicted on four counts of spaceship hijacking (two resulting in grievous bodily harm and one resulting in death), three counts of grand theft of explosive, biological, and radiological devices, three counts of theft of explosive, biological, and radiological agents, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon of mass destruction, one count of organized piracy, one count of unlawfully conducting transactions of weapons, two counts of murder (one count of murder to commit monetary gain), one count of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of unlawful transport and transaction (one count of unlawful transport of stolen weapons, one count of unlawful transport of cargo), and one count of unlawful trafficking of sentient species, and one count of gross interference with interstellar trade.

The trial lasted for six months, starting with jury selection on April 5, 2282. Over four hundred prosecution witnesses and fifty defense witnesses were called and examined by either side. Several high-profile witnesses for the prosecution team included the second-in-command of the Crimson Sabres in an extremely controversial interrogation (the witness was given a plea deal in exchange for his testimony and was sentenced in a later trial), and the defense team included witnesses who were former members of the Federation Army, sparking controversy on either side. The trial was one of the highest profile trials in Federation history and was repeatedly covered and mentioned intergalactically by numerous nations.

Xar'noth was convicted of nine counts on November 16, 2282, with the remaining charges being dropped due to the jury finding him not guilty of them. On December 4, 2282, the Supreme Court of Justice sentenced Xar'noth to a total of two life sentences plus 163 years of imprisonment. Xar'noth's lawyers later appealed to both the Appellate Court of the Federation and the Supreme Court of the Federation - both appeals were denied and the conviction ultimately stood.

Background
Xolar Xar'noth was the leader of the Crimson Sabres gang from its formation in 2261 until its disbandment with his conviction.