Gavel A gavel was a hammer - like tool used by judge s and arbiter s to demonstrate their power and authority in a formal trial or hearing . Gavels were used by Human s , Klingon s , and Bajoran s . The Klingons used a gavel with a large , outstretched arm , and their version of the tool was a metal ball . Courtroom s located on Qo ' noS and Narendra III from the 22nd century to at least the 23rd century had this type of gavel , which emitted sparks upon hitting . In 2152 , a Klingon magistrate used a gavel during Captain Jonathan Archer ' s tribunal on Narendra III . The judge in the trial of James T . Kirk and Leonard McCoy also used one , a hundred and forty - one years later . ( ; ) Adam – one of multiple disciples of Dr . Sevrin , who were brought aboard the in 2269 – sang a song that contained the word " gavel " , upon Captain James T . Kirk refusing to release Sevrin from medical confinement ( since he was a carrier of " synthococcus novae " ) . The lyrics Adam sang were , " " Stiff man putting my mind in jail . And the judge bang the gavel and say , ' No bail . ' Gonna lick his hand and wag my tail . " " ( ) In 2369 , the Bajoran arbiter Els Renora used a ball - gavel during the hearing of extradition for Lieutenant Jadzia Dax on Deep Space 9 . ( ) In the Cardassian judicial system , a symbolic rock was used ( such as by Chief Archon Makbar on Cardassia Prime in 2370 ) in place of a gavel . ( ) Appendices . Background information . A revised draft story outline for ( with the working title " Court Martial at Star Base 811 " , dated ) stated that , during the court martial of James T . Kirk , " " An old ship ' s bell is used instead of a gavel . " " A gavel was also mentioned once in the final and revised drafts as being used by Commodore , who hammered the tool on his desk in response to Spock and McCoy hurrying into the courtroom with new evidence . However , no gavel is present in the final version of the episode , in which the " old ship ' s bell " is indeed used instead . A gavel was also scripted to appear in , to be used by Data while acting as arbiter of a trial to determine whether an apparently non - corporeal lifeform was Ardra . However , no gavel appears in the final version of the episode . During the scene in which Starfleet meets to discuss the explosion of Praxis in , the script stated , " " A door opens and STARFLEET ADMIRAL DONALD , austere and impressive , enters and gavels the meeting to order . " " In a later scene , the Klingon judge ' s gavel was described as " a grotesque mailed glove , " mistaking the gavel for the glove that holds it . A concept drawing for the Klingon " Star Trek VI " gavel was created by Nilo Rodis - Jamero . ( " The Art of Star Trek " , p . 267 ) Props master Gregory Jein carved the ball shape out of green foam , then had one of his employees in the props department cast the actual ball . Jein was aware of deviating from the red paint scheme commonly associated with the Klingons , opting to give the gavel a weathered steel finish . The prop was made so that streaks of light would burst out of the cracks in the gavel as it was struck . However , there was a difficulty with the gavel ' s interior light during filming . " " The actor got too enthusiastic and the light broke on the second or third take , " " said Jein . ( " The Making of the Trek Films " , 3rd ed . , p . 128 ) The Bajoran gavel seen in was sketched by Rick Sternbach and made out of real stone by the art department . ( DS9 Season 1 DVD special feature " Deep Space Nine Sketchbook " ) The script for DS9 : also mentioned a gavel , stating that Makbar was to use " " not a gavel but a symbolic rock . " " Writer David A . Goodman was not entirely certain whether the sparks from the gavel in were added in post - production or involved live pyrotechnics . However , he reckoned that at least some of the sparks were probably added after - the - fact , remarking , " " I don ' t know that there ' s any way they could have done that live . " " ( " Judgment " podcast / audio commentary ) Both the Klingon and Bajoran gavel props were later sold in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction , for US $ 24 , 000 and US $ 1 , 801 , respectively . Apocrypha . The FASA role - playing game sourcebook " The Federation " features the image of a typical Human judge ' s gavel . In the novel " Savage Trade " , Yarnek , while assuming the persona of George Washington , pulls a musket pistol from his jacket and uses the butt as a gavel in order to silence a room during a meeting . While speaking , the room cheers loudly , necessitating him to bang it again several times more . In the novel " The Good That Men Do " , Nathan Samuels uses a gavel during a meeting with , Jonathan Archer , Thoris , , and other representatives of the Coalition of Planets . " Q ' s Gavel " is an item that can be crafted in the video game " Star Trek Timelines " .