Is Dr. Smith Falsely Imprisoned on the Jupiter 2?

When you are Lost in Space, what do you do with a stowaway that has committed everything from identity theft to murder? In the case of the Robinson family on the Jupiter 2, they lock that person in a storage compartment. Don’t worry, the “prisoner” gets fed and escorted to the bathroom while handcuffed.

Problem: Is that legal? Sure, the Robinson family is literally lost in space, but that does not give license to just violate civil rights. On the flip side, you can’t have a manipulative psychopath running around. Think of the risk to the children.

Is Confining Dr. Smith to a Storage Compartment False Imprisonment?

False imprisonment is the unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another. Cal. Pen. Code § 236. This can be further described as a false arrest, where there is an unlawful taking of a person into custody. Roberts v. City of Los Angeles, 109 Cal.App.3d 625, 634 (Cal. Ct. App. 1980). As neither of the Robinson parents are law enforcement, it is easy to see the confinement of Dr. Smith as a false arrest and thus false imprisonment. However, that ipso facto analysis would ignore the fact Dr. Smith has committed many crimes ranging from murder aboard the Resolute, identity theft, false impersonation, fraud, battery upon Will Robinson by tying him up, false imprisonment of Will Robinson, and kidnapping Maureen.

Maureen and John Robinson have a strong argument they have placed Dr. Smith under citizen’s arrest. The law states a private person may arrest another:

1. 1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.
   2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence.
   3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.

Cal. Pen. Code § 837.

Dr. Smith kidnapped Maureen when Smith forced Maureen to the alien wreck in season 1, episode 9, Resurrection. That crime was committed in Maureen’s presence, since she was the victim of the crime. That is grounds enough to confine Dr. Smith. Add in the crimes against Will Robinson, it is amazing Dr. Smith was not tossed out an airlock. However, the fact Dr. Smith was placed in confinement, demonstrated an intent to follow due process and not the collapse of civil society, despite the fact of being lost in space. If the family is ever reunited with the Resolute, Dr. Smith can be turned over to the authorities for her crimes.