The first season season two court martial case episodes and the first one, titled Court Martial, sees Captain Kirk put on trial for the murder of one of his men, a former mentor and friend. Lieutenant Areel Shaw was the Starfleet JAG officer assigned to Starbase 11. In 2267, she was the prosecuting attorney in the court martial of James T. Kirk for the death of Benjamin Finney. Captain Kirk meets with his old friend, Areel Shaw, who he hasn’t seen in over four years. She warns him that he’s taking the case very lightly, which he attributes to “the confidence of an innocent man”.
Shaw and Kirk had been romantically linked in 2262. The relationship did not work out, but they parted as friends. Despite this personal history, Shaw maintained her professional integrity and presented a strong case against her former lover that was only refuted after an investigation began by Commander Spock revealed the truth of Finney’s frame up. During the case it is obvious that the feelings are still there, especially for Ms. Shaw although Kirk also holds some affection for her. As the two meet in the officer’s lounge, Kirk is more interested in spending time with Areel instead of working on his defense. Areel Shaw is the only female Starfleet officer to wear a dress uniform in the entire run of the original series. As the Enterprise prepares to depart, Areel tells Kirk that Cogley will now represent Finney in his own trial. She kisses Kirk goodbye, hoping they will see each other again. Areel was portrayed by the late actress Joan Marshall.
The beautiful Joan Marshall, a native of Chicago, entered show business when she was hired as a showgirl at Chicago’s Chez Paree at the age of 14, and began appearing in Las Vegas two years later. After moving to California, she began working in television in the late 1950s, with appearances on several Westerns. She was subsequently cast to star in the adventure series Bold Venture, which last for 39 episodes during the 1959-1960 TV season. She also starred in cult horror movie Homicidal, the 1964 musical Looking for Love She also starred as Phoebe Munster in the first unaired pilot for The Munsters, but she was replaced by Yvonne De Carlo when filming on the show’s first season began and the character became known as Lily Munster. She passed away in 1975 at the age of 61.