How do you atone for the sin of turning a child over to fascists for medical experimentation that would be a war crime? In the Mandalorian’s case, you go save the kid in a way that makes Clint Eastwood in Unforgiving look restrained.
Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian, Chapter 3, The Sin.
Did the Mandalorian have a Duty to Rescue Child from the Imperial Remnant?
The law does not impose a duty to rescue a stranger absent a special relationship. Moreover, there is no duty to protect others from the criminal acts of third parties. Folsom v. Burger King, 135 Wn. 2d 658, 674-75 (Wash. 1998), citing W. PAGE KEETON ET AL., PROSSER AND KEETON ON THE LAW OF TORTS § 56 (5th ed. 1984) and Hutchins v. 1001 Fourth Ave. Assocs., 116 Wn.2d 217, 223 (1991).
A “special relationship” can arise when one party is entrusted with the well-being of another individual. Folsom, *675, citing Lauritzen v. Lauritzen, 74 Wn. App. 432, 440, 874 P.2d 861 (1994). One of those situations is when someone has a custodial relationship to another. Stangle v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 198 Cal.App.3d 971, 974-75 (Cal. Ct. App. 1988), and Rest.2d Torts, § 314A.
The Mandalorian arguably had developed a custodial relationship with the Child based on the following events: finding the Child; protecting the Child from IG-11; protecting the Child from the Trandoshan bounty hunters; and refusing the Jawa offer to take the Child in exchange for the stolen parts to the Razor Crest. During this entire series of events, the Mandalorian had a custodial relationship with the Child. Moreover, the Mandalorian’s actions arguably put him “in loco parentis” to the Child, which is when “to a person who has put himself in the situation of a lawful parent by assuming the obligations incident to the parental relation without going through the formalities necessary to legal adoption.” Fuller v. Fuller, 247 A.2d 767, 770 (D.C. 1968), citing Niewiadomski v. United States, 159 F.2d 683, 686 (6th Cir. 1947), cert. denied, 331 U.S. 850, 67 S.Ct. 1730, 91 L.Ed. 1859. Moreover, “in loco parentis” only arises when someone is “willing to assume all the obligations and to receive all the benefits associated with one standing as a natural parent to a child.” Id.
The Mandalorian provided the Child safety and security while the Child was in his care. Moreover, the only time the Child cried was when Stormtroopers took the Child away for medical experimentation. Based upon the above series of events, The Mandalorian had developed a “special relationship” with the Child, which mandated rescuing the Child from the Imperial Remnant.
Was the Mandalorian’s Raid on the Imperials Justified under the Defense of Others?
Yoda said to Luke Skywalker, “A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” The Mandalorian did not get that memo. Moreover, an attack on an aggressor upon another could justify an attack upon the aggressor under the defense of others. The question is whether the defense of others justified the Mandalorian raiding an Imperial compound to rescue the Child.
A person has engaged in perfect defense of others – and is not guilty of homicide – if he kills a person with, “an honest and reasonable belief in the need to defend himself or others from great bodily injury or death.” People v. Garcia, B259708, at *6-7 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 28, 2016), citing People v. Valenzuela 199 Cal.App.4th 1214, 1227 (2011), quoting People v. Flannel (1979) 25 Cal.3d 668, 674-675; § 197, subd. 3. The subjective belief of danger negates the malice necessary to make the homicide murder, which then turns to the issue of whether that belief was reasonable. Garcia, citing People v. Rodriguez 53 Cal.App.4th 1250, 1269 (1997).
Did the Mandalorian have an honest and reasonable belief that he needed to defend the Child from the Imperials? The Mandalorian watched with his infrared scope, that also picked up audio, a conversation between the Client and Dr. Pershing directing the Doctor to quickly extract the necessary material from the Child because the Client could no longer guarantee Dr. Pershing’s safety. Coupled with every Bounty Hunter having been retained by the Client to terminate the Child, the Mandalorian did have an honest and reasonable belief the Child was in mortal danger from the Client having Dr. Pershing conduct a medical procedure that could kill the Child. This reasonable belief would negate the malice required for murdering fourteen Stormtroopers and makes his use of force justifiable in order to save the Child.
Let’s not forget the Imperials were the ones who had blown up planets and waged wars on civilian populations in their Doctrine of Fear. It would be unreasonable to not see them as an imminent threat to anyone in their custody.
Self Defense Against Bounty Hunters
The entire Bounty Hunters Guild all had tracking fobs activate after the Mandalorian rescued the Child from the Imperials. This resulted in the Bounty Hunters confronting the Mandalorian and a shootout with at least sixteen other Bounty Hunters.
The doctrine of self-defense requires a person to reasonably believe that their safety was endangered. Over a dozen Bounty Hunters surrounded the Mandalorian. The Client had retained those very same Bounty Hunters to kill the Child. Moreover, Greef Karga had stated earlier the other Bounty Hunters wanted the Mandalorian dead for his success in finding the Child. Furthermore, during the shootout Karga also stated a threat to kill the Mandalorian and strip his body for parts. There was more than enough of a reasonable belief for the Mandalorian to fear for his life, and that of the Child, for him to claim self-defense in his gunfight with the Bounty Hunters.
