A trial was a formal examination of the actions of an individual, seeking to determine whether the individual had infringed some form of law. It could be held in a court, with the term of court applying both to the physical location of the trial, to the trial itself, and to the judging panel.
Officials[]
On Earth, trials were typically presided over by a judge. (AUDIO: Judoon in Chains) However, Gallifreyan trials could also be headed by a small group of representatives of the High Council, (TV: The War Games) by the President of the High Council (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey) or by an Inquisitor. (TV: The Mysterious Planet) The Time Lords maintained their own High Courts. (PROSE: Revelation of the Daleks)
Lawyers, or attorneys, would represent the accused, seeking to defend them via rhetorical argument directed to the judging court. (COMIC: The Court of Birds) In turn, a prosecutor would present an argument for the accused's guilt. On Gallifrey, "valeyard", a name adopted by a maleficent emanation of the Doctor, was an obscure term for a particularly learned prosecutor. (TV: The Mysterious Planet)
In 20th century Britain, the jury's role was the decide whether the evidence present was sufficient to condemn the accused as "guilty" or "not guilty", requiring unanimous agreement before the trial could be concluded (PROSE: The Juror's Story)
The Doctor's trials[]
Over the course of his long life, the Doctor was involved in many trials across his different incarnations.
For the murder of Roberta Sampson[]
- Main article: The Doctor's trial (The Juror's Story)
The First Doctor was put on trial on Earth in 1963 for the murder of werewolf Roberta Sampson. He was acquitted of all charges. (PROSE: The Juror's Story)
For plotting to destroy all life on Venus[]
- Main article: The Doctor's trial (Venusian Lullaby)
The First Doctor was put on trial on Venus in circa 3 billion BC for plotting to destroy all life on the planet during the Sou(ou)shi encounter with the Venusians. He was found likely to have carried out the accused crimes and was sentenced to death, but was saved from this fate by Lighibu. (PROSE: Venusian Lullaby)
For the breach of non-interference[]
- Main article: The Doctor's trial (The War Games)
The Second Doctor was put on trial on Gallifrey for the breach of their Non-interference policy. He was exiled to 20th century Earth and regenerated into his Third incarnation as part of his sentence. (TV: The War Games, Spearhead from Space)
For the murder of the Lord President[]
- Main article: The Doctor's trial (The Deadly Assassin)
The Fourth Doctor was put on trial on Gallifrey for the murder of Lord President (TV: The Deadly Assassin) Pandad IV. (PROSE: The Legacy of Gallifrey) All charges were eventually dropped, after it transpired that Goth had been the murderer, under the influence of the Master. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)
For his general behaviour[]
- Main article: The Doctor's trial (The Mysterious Planet)
The Sixth Doctor was put on trial in Space Station Zenobia for for his general behaviour, with Darkel serving as inquisitor and the Valeyard as prosecutor.
Notable trials[]
Vislor Turlough's inquisition was held at Government House in the 1970s following the Trion Civil War. He was exiled to Earth for his continued support of the Imperial Clans and loyalty to the Old Regime. (PROSE: Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma)
Colin Baker was put on trial on 18 June 2019 for failure to pay a parking fine. Baker deried the trail as a farce, and unsuccessfully tried to justify his failure to pay by explaining that he had been filming new material for Doctor Who Season 23. (WC: The Trial)
Planned trials[]
During V-Time, Chris Cwej was tasked with tracking down the Gentleman and bringing him back to his Superiors for trial. However, this never came to pass, as Cwej, Larles, Kwol and kady Williams caused the Gentleman's apparent death in the process of escaping from his clutches. Kady speculated that had they successfully brought the Gentleman to the Superiors, they would simply have experimented on him further to turn him back into a weapon, instead of carrying out anything that could truly be called justice. (PROSE: Ring Theory)