I don't think a judge is empowered to make that kind of distinction, to essentially write a new classification of citizenship. Being a US citizen means having the rights and responsibilities laid out in the Constitution.

Now, it may be that granting her those rights is on hold via an injunction until the appeals have all run their course, a process that could take years. Legally, the government couldn't grab her and make her disappear, but neither would they have to recognize her full rights.







I don't think it's a matter of who gets it first so much as who sets a lasting precedence. There is rarely if ever a popular vote to determine who is going to set off a social movement... circumstances thrust someone into the limelight, and history rolls with it. As noted by Hallie, Anna is maybe less than ideal in that she only *looks* harmless, something symbolically and strategically important to those who would argue that robo-citizenship is a dangerous threat lurking in sheep's clothing. An average robosapien who has no great strength or weapon systems would have probably been a more sympathetic choice for the cause, but that's not how things went.

Nobody who's truly serious about the idea of freedom is going to blame Anna for asking for (and surprisingly getting) it. That's not to say there aren't those on both sides who may want to control or manipulate her into behaving how they'd like her to behave now...