This is a nice episode. The problem is too much familiarity. The idea of proving an artificial intelligence is sentient is one of those staples of science fiction. Perhaps Asimov did it first, but the arguments are always the same. There is no question of the power of these things (in this case a really cheap looking robot) is at issue. It has to do with the protections we have from these man-made creatures. Could they have acted violently, given these safeguards? Everything is in how nuanced the trial works, how aggressive the negative forces are, and what the motivations of the bad guys are. Commander Data went through a couple of these on Next Generation an ultimately it seems to be an overzealous soldier type who sees an android or robot as one who does the wishes of others. I've always wondered if we would be so callous if such beings existed, at least in such an advanced state as this. Of course, emotions are frequently an issue to be debated as they seem to be at the separation point. Anyway, the trial is a lot of fun and the episode is quite satisfying.