Boba Fett escaped the Sarlacc Pit only to have his armor stripped from his body by Jawas..one of whom smashed an ionization blaster butt against Boba’s face.
There is a lot of things with the Jawas’ actions.
The Jawas Committed Robbery
If the sands of Tatooine had laws similar to California, the elements of robbery are easily met for the vexus Jawas. Robbery is defined as follows:
“Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.”
Cal. Pen. Code § 211.
Boba Fett was injured with acid burns after being in the Sarlacc’s stomach. In his weakened state, Jawas discovered him and began removing his body armor. One of them struck him when he resisted. The body armor was Boba Fett’s personal property that was literally on his body. The Jawas took it from him against his will. Smashing Boba Fett’s face with a rifle butt is the textbook definition of “force.” All the elements are met for convicting the Jawas of robbery.
The Jawas Committed Battery of Boba Fett
Battery is “any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.” Cal. Pen. Code § 242. The Jawa who struck Boba Fest with the ionization blaster butt committed a willful and unlawful use of violence upon Boba Fett.
There is the legal maxim that members of a criminal conspiracy are liable for each act of the conspiracy if it was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. In re Thompson, B270387, at *8-9 (Cal. Ct. App. Sep. 5, 2017).
The Jawas had a criminal conspiracy to take Boba Fett’s armor from his person. The Jawa who struck Boba Fett did so in furtherance of taking his armor. As taking his armor was the goal of the conspiracy, all the Jawas in the conspiracy would be liable for the battery.
Attempted Murder of Boba Fett
The Jawas robbers and battered Boba Fett before leaving him to die in the desert. Was that enough to convict them of attempted murder?
Murder is the “unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.” Cal. Pen. Code § 187(a). First Degree Murder includes a murder that was committed in the perpetration of a robbery. Cal. Pen. Code § 189(a). A person can be convicted of an attempt to commit a crime. Cal. Pen. Code § 663.
If Boba Fett had died in the sand after being robbed and battered by Jawas, they could be charged with First Degree Murder. However, the fact he survived means there was not a death while being robbed. As such, the elements to elevate a robbery to murder are not met. Consider a case from Louisiana, which is not the Dagobah of the United States, but does offer helpful analysis:
A specific intent to kill is an essential element of the crime of attempted second degree murder. A specific intent to inflict great bodily harm is sufficient to find a defendant guilty of murder if the victim dies, but is not sufficient to find him guilty of the attempt if the victim survives. In such a case, the defendant’s intent to inflict great bodily harm would be sufficient only to find him guilty of a battery .
State v. Latiolais, 453 So. 2d 1266, 1268-69 (La. Ct. App. 1984), citing State v. Butler,322 So.2d 189 (La. 1975).
What was the specific intent of the Jawa? If the intent was only to cause harm, the most he could be charged with is battery. However, a prosecutor could argue the intent was to kill based on the circumstances of the encounter: Boba Fett was found severely injured; he offered resistance to having his armor taken from him; he was struck in the face, and then left to freeze in the night or be cooked under the twin suns of Tatooine.
That sounds like an intent to kill.
