The Mandalorian is here and Gabby Martin, Thomas Harper, and I sat down to discuss the first episode of this awesome series. Can bounty hunters kill bail jumpers? When a contract is unenforceable because it violates public policy? Find out as explore these issues and all want a toy from the big shocker at the end of the episode.
“[The beast] has no voice to defend itself. Anakin, we have to be that voice.”
-Senator Padmé Amidala
The tale of the Zillo Beast happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but Senator Amidala’s quote perfectly captures the conservationist sentiment that prevailed here in the U.S. in 1973 when Congress passed the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). As the Star Wars saga’s answer to classic kaiju, the Zillo Beast appeared in two episodes of The Clone Wars, Season Two. While battling a Separatist invasion on the planet Malastare, Republic forces unwittingly unearthed the last known specimen of the legendary Zillo Beasts. After subduing the creature, Palpatine ordered Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu to transport it to Coruscant for study. How might the broad protections of the ESA apply to a creature as rare as the Zillo Beast?
The Malastare Zillo Beast was an “endling”—the term for the last known individual of a species. As an endling, the beast almost certainly would qualify as an “endangered” species, the most at-risk ESA listing classification reserved for wildlife species that are “in danger of extinction.” 16 U.S.C. § 1532(6). This listing category would entitle the beast to the highest level of species conservation protections under the ESA, which prohibit hunting, capturing, and transporting of specimens. 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1). So technically, the removal of the beast from Malastare to Coruscant would violate the ESA and the Jedi could face civil and criminal fines and possibly even a short prison sentence.
However, the ESA provides some limited exceptions to endangered species protections. One exception allows the federal government to issue a permit for the capture and transportation of endangered species for “scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species, including . . . acts necessary for the establishment and maintenance of experimental populations.” 16 U.S.C. § 1539(a)(1)(A).
And in fact, after the beast escapes, rampages through Coruscant, and is ultimately destroyed, Palpatine gives a sinister order to clone the Zillo Beast for his dark, secret purposes. This order was the last time the beast was mentioned in The Clone Wars thus far, but in a series with “clone” in the title, it seems very likely that cloning is a viable option for “enhancing the survival of the species” in Star Wars. Granted, here on Earth, cloning technology is not sufficiently advanced to reliably clone animals, and the ESA does not contemplate cloning as a method of species recovery.
But perhaps Palpatine’s cloning program has come to fruition with a new experimental population of Zillo Beasts. In the Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Kylo Ren #1 comic, the new Supreme Leader battles and kills a Zillo Beast on a remote Outer Rim world. Maybe this encounter indicates that Zillo Beasts have recovered as a species thanks to Palpatine’s clone-conservation efforts. On the other hand, if that Outer Rim creature was itself an endling, perhaps Kylo has wiped Zillo Beasts from the galaxy… again? Now more than ever—both in Star Wars and on our planet—strong environmental legal protections are important to stemming the devastating loss of plant and animal species caused by habitat destruction, climate change, and the occasional rampaging Kylo Ren.
The Mandalorian will feature IG-11, an assassin droid, who is seen in a gunfight in the first two previews. This is not the first time we have seen an IG Droid. The first was IG-88, who appeared in The Empire Strikes Back. These autonomous killing machines have appeared in multiple animated series as well. This raises the question; can an IG Droid enter a contract? Bounty hunting is a complicated profession, especially if a bounty hunter does not meet the legal definition of “person.”
Who Can Enter a Contract?
The law states “all persons are capable of contracting, except minors, persons of unsound mind, and persons deprived of civil rights.” Cal. Civ. Code § 1556, emphases added. There are multiple definitions of “person.” Consider these two examples:
“Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
Cal. Com. Code § 1201(b)(27)
“Person” includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity.
Cal. Evid. Code § 175
The legal definition of “person” includes those who are nature born human beings or legal entities that conduct business or services. Moreover, every “person” within a state such as California, is subject to its jurisdiction and entitled to its protection. Cal. Gov’t Code § 270. Furthermore, it is universal language in Constitutions to state that “all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” Cal Const, Art. I § 1, emphasis added.
The law does not address artificial intelligence, however the law does address “artificial persons” such as corporations. This raises the question; can a computer enter a contract? In the 1996 law review article Harvard Journal of Law & Technology that addressed whether computers could enter trading contracts, the essential question was whether the behavior manifested by the computer is roughly approximate to the behavior manifested by a person who understands that his or her actions may lead to the creation of a contract. Tom Allen and Robin Widdison, Can Computers Make Contracts? 9 Harv. J. Law & Tec 25, *39-40 (Winter, 1996).
Does any IG Droid understand that its actions can create a contract? This raises the issue of capacity.
Do IG Droids Have the Mental Capacity to Enter a Contract?
The law defines “capacity” to enter a contract as “a person’s ability to understand the nature and consequences of a decision and to make and communicate a decision, and includes in the case of proposed health care, the ability to understand its significant benefits, risks, and alternatives.” Cal. Prob. Code § 4609.
Case law goes further into describing contract formation requires that parties must have a “mutual understanding of what is being done.” Estate of Ginsberg 11 Cal.App.2d 210, 216 (1936).
IG-88 clearly understood that Darth Vader’s bounty was to capture the Millennium Falcon with the crew alive by any means necessary and no disintegrations. The terms were clear. While we never heard IG-88 speak in a film, the bounty hunter either understood the terms of the contract, and failed to capture the Millennium Falcon, or rejected the terms, and did not attempt to capture the Millennium Falcon.
What Will We See in The Mandalorian?
The ability for IG-88 or IG-11 to be able to enter into a contract will turn on whether they have the same behavior manifested by a person who understands that his or her actions may lead to the creation of a contract. While the law does not define artificial intelligence as a “person,” the law does recognize artificial persons such as corporations. If a IG droid can manifest an understanding that they have a contract, the law could recognize their ability to enter into agreements.
The Clone Wars episodes “An Old Friend,” “The Rise of Clovis,” and “Crisis at the Heart” center the Banking Clan and its role in the Clone Wars. Operating as a galactic IMF and neutral territory, the Banking Clan on the planet Scipio is the economic heart of the galaxy handling funds for both the Republic and the Separatist movement.
The story opens with Senator Amidala traveling to Scipio to obtain aid for those displaced by the ongoing Clone Wars. Enter “traitor to the Republic and known Separatist” Rush Clovis, the representative assigned to discuss the terms of the aid loan with Senator Amidala. If you’re wondering why anyone would put their trust in someone with such a title, I’d remind you that even though the phrase “I have a bad feeling about this” abounds in a galaxy far, far away, no one ever seems to follow that up with a “yeah, you’re right, let’s not do this.” But I digress.
Although Padme initially requests that Clovis be removed from the loan negotiations, she later agrees to work with him to investigate his allegations of fraud and stolen money that has left the bank out of funds. Together they convince the Core Five to allow Padme to enter the vault and accompany the transfer of funds and later devise a plan for Padme to obtain the evidence while the power to the vault is temporarily disabled. While they manage to successfully obtain incriminating evidence, they’re quickly caught with Padme being detained for espionage.
Once rescued by her husband, Anakin, Padme and Clovis return to Coruscant to expose the banking fraud on Scipio.
Oh, Padme (and frankly everyone in the Republic leadership)! If only you had followed the Federal Rules of Evidence. The brief battle at Scipio (deemed a “war”, although I’m not sure this title fits) would have been avoided and the banks may not have ended up in the Chancellor’s control. Although they may have eventually, given how things ended up in Revenge of the Sith, it might have at least been delayed.
The initial drive
The drive that Padme and Clovis bring to the Chancellor in “The Rise of Clovis,” is the first piece of evidence introduced to prove the corruption in the Banking Clan. The Chancellor–as our theoretical judge–asks Clovis to substantiate these claims of corruption. When Clovis presents the drive which shows funds being diverted from the bank into private accounts, Senator Organa rightly demands to know the veracity of the evidence. After all, Clovis’ credibility is questionable. Padme responds by invoking the spirit of the Federal Rules of Evidence of 901. Rule 901 of the Federal Rules of Evidence covers the authentication of evidence. Rule 901(a) states that “to satisfy the requirement of authenticating or identifying an item of evidence, the proponent must produce evidence sufficient to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it is.” Authentication and identification are the conditions precedent to the admission of documents and physical evidence.
In order to identify the drive that Clovis is presenting, Padme tells Senator Organa that it was she who downloaded the files from the Muun mainframe. Given Padme’s knowledge of the files, the Chancellor asks Padme to work with Clovis to investigate the Banking Clan and determine the extent of the corruption.
With the foundational evidence establishing the corruption in the Banking Clan, we can, as Darth Sidious said: “move to the next stage of the proceedings.”
The “smoking gun”
As the investigation continues, it is discovered that the Separatists have not been paying interest on their loans, and yet the Banking Clan is lending credits to the Republic–credits it does not have. However, Padme notes that there is still a critical piece of information missing.
Meanwhile, Count Dooku is tasked with bringing Rush Clovis back into the fold and making him head of the Banking Clan. Dooku uses a droid to send Clovis a message asserting that the Separatist government will support his appointment to the leader of the Banking Clan and providing him with a disc containing the details of the secret Muun accounts.
Clovis takes the disc to Nix Card and the Chancellor who blindly accept this evidence and arrest the Core Five for corruption and embezzlement based on this “smoking gun” showing the secret accounts.
Unlike the disc that Padme brings from Scipio, no one questions the veracity of the disc with the secret accounts. No one asks Clovis to identify the source or authenticity of the evidence.
This is troubling considering the way Clovis’s character has previously been attacked. More importantly, for our purposes anyway, it is concerning given that there’s a clear hearsay objection to be made. The evidence of the secret accounts on the disc is an out-of-court statement being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted because they are being used to prove the existence of the accounts. The only way to admit the evidence on the disc would be under a hearsay exception–most likely the business records exception (Rule 803(6)). This would require a Muun custodian of the records to testify that the bank records on the disc were kept as part of the ordinary course of business. Testimony would also be required from someone with knowledge of the veracity of the information on the disc. Neither of which happened in this case.
The moral of the story–the Chancellor/Darth Sidious’s plans could have been easily foiled by a legal Jedi with superior knowledge of the rules of evidence.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars presented many memorable story arcs that explored the lives and challenges facing clone soldiers of the Galactic Republic. During a 4-episode arc: Darkness on Umbara, The General, Plan of Dissent, and Carnage of Krell, Republic Clone soldiers are faced with a tall challenge when they are assigned to the command of a General who seems to care little for their lives and treats them only as assets on a battlefield. General Pong Krell repeatedly orders the men under his command to undertake dangerous missions that seem to make little sense. Some of the Clone soldiers begin to question the wisdom of the General’s orders, which prompts a discussion among the clones about what they should do. The soldiers had a duty to follow orders, but how far does this go?
We can look to our own world history for some examples. Different countries have different military traditions. Under the American military system the general rule is that an order can only be disobeyed if it is unlawful. This standard provides enough room for interpretation that courts have trended in different directions over the years, with some courts emphasizing the individual over the military, and others siding with the military over the individual.
One oft-cited example is the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, in which 504 people were killed, including young women and children. The incident involved a cover up, and ultimately 14 men were charged, and one person convicted. This incident is often looked to as an example of an illegal order which a soldier would not have to obey.
Other cases have emphasized that one cannot simply rely upon the defense that they were simply following orders. In one well-known American case, during the War of 1812 crew members of an American privateer were tried for stopping and searching a neutral Portuguese vessel on the high seas, when during the stop the American crew assaulted the Portuguese captain and crew and stole valuables. The court rejected the defense advanced by the crew in which they argued that they had simply been following orders. The justice wrote:
This doctrine . . . . alarming and unfounded, is repugnant to reason, and to the positive law of the land. No military or civil officer can command an inferior to violate the laws of his country; nor will such command excuse, much less justify the act. Can it be for a moment pretended, that the general of an army, or the commander of a ship of war, can order one of his men to commit murder or felony? Certainly not.
The crew was found guilty.
The German military system emphasizes the individual over the military, following a standard whereby a military order is not binding if it is not “of any use for service” or cannot reasonably be executed. German military rules, mindful of history, now forbid the use of the German military to do anything other than defend Germany itself. The German military system emphasizes a military experience built around the inner conscience of each individual. German soldiers can refuse combat assignments or disobey orders with relatively little consequence. This standard has been upheld repeatedly in civil courts.
Most symbolic is the fact that new German soldiers swear their oaths to defend Germany at the Benderblock, a Berlin building where participants of a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler were executed in 1944. Today the building is a museum to German resistance. It is a powerful reminder that new German soldiers are sworn to their oaths not in a place of military obedience, but in a place of military resistance.
This brings up the question, what form of military system would the Old Republic have in place? Given that the Clone Wars aided Palpatine’s consolidation of power, it would seem likely that even if there were some rules to allow for limited judgment by the individual soldier, much of the power would be placed in the hands of the military commanders. By the time of the Galactic Empire, when we see Darth Vader summarily execute officers for alleged incompetence without so much as a trial, there would seem to be very little room for individual judgment. If a soldier objected, it would likely be best to remain quiet rather than risk becoming the victim of a Force choke.
Back to the clone wars episode, after a difficult debate, the clone soldiers continue to follow orders until a fateful confrontation in which it is revealed that they are in fact fighting against another Republic clone trooper regiment. In the heat of battle, Captain Rex senses that something is amiss and discovers the his men are in fact fighting against their own clone brothers. Armed with this knowledge, the clones confront General Krell, who reveals himself to be a traitor, intent upon joining the enemy after first destroying Republic assets. Several clone troopers are killed in the ensuing conflict until General Krell is rendered unconscious. A difficult question now confronts the soldiers: what do they do with the traitorous general?
There is little time for a court martial, and ultimately one soldier cannot bear the betrayal and executes the former General. Ironically, the soldier pulling the trigger is the same soldier who had vigorously defended the General earlier in the story, and could not cope with the idea that their commanding officer had betrayed them. Insubordination, mutiny, and treason. All heavy issues touched upon during this story arc.
You don’t need a holocron to see all of the legal issues in The Clone Wars arch Holocron Heist, Cargo of Doom, and Children of the Force. In this season two story, Cad Bane was retained by Darth Sidious to steal a Jedi Holocron from the Jedi Temple in order to access a kyber crystal with all of the personal information of children strong in the Force, and then to go kidnap children. There is a lot to unpack in these episodes.
Holocron Heist
Cad Bane retained the shape shifter Cato Parasitti to assume the identify (and shape) of Jedi Ord Enisence, who was murdered by Bane. Cad Bane and Cato Parasitti both committed trespassing in the Jedi Temple, which is entering property without the owner’s consent, which is why Parasitti’s shape shifting abilities were needed for the heist. Cal. Penal Code § 602(m). Once inside the Jedi Temple, Parasitti assumed the identify of Jocasta Nu. Parasitti assisted Bane by providing operational support from inside the Jedi Temple by accessing the Jedi computer system. The unauthorized computer access would be a computer crime under California law, because Bane and Parasitti were in a conspiracy to use the Jedi computer system both deceive through impersonating a Jedi and to wrongful control Jedi property by stealing a Holocron. Cal. Penal Code § 502(c)(1).
The law does not specifically address shapeshifters, but it does address false impersonation of another person:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who knowingly and without consent credibly impersonates another actual person through or on an Internet Web site or by other electronic means for purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening, or defrauding another person is guilty of a public offense punishable pursuant to subdivision (d).
Cal. Penal Code § 528.5(a).
Parasitti impersonated both Ord Enisence and Jocasta Nu using electronic means (the computers in the Jedi Library) for the purpose of defrauding the Jedi of property (the aforementioned holocron). Without impersonating a Jedi, Parasitti would not have had access to the Jedi’s computer system.
If this was simply a case of taking library property, the fine for taking the holocron would be a fine of at least $50 but not more than $1,000. Cal. Penal Code § 490.5. However, this case is not one of simply taking a library book. The holocrons were kept in a vault with limited access only to the Jedi Counsel. The value of the holocron should exceed $950, making the criminal action grand theft. Cal. Penal Code § 487(a).
Cad Bane gained entrance to the Jedi Temple using stolen codes to get past a security shield. At a minimum, this is a trespass. However, since the Jedi Temple is inhabited by the Jedi (many live there), the elements for burglary are met, because the Cad Bane entered the Temple with the intent to commit grand or petit larceny. Cal. Penal Code § 459.
Cargo of Doom
The second episode in this three-part story opens with Jedi Bolla Ropal being held onboard a Separatist warship in energy bonds. Bane ordered Droids to inflict pain upon Ropal to compel him to open the kyber crystal containing personal identifiable information of Force sensitive children. This would meet the legal definition of torture, which is when a person (Bane) caused extreme pain for the purpose of persuasion of Ropal. Cal. Penal Code § 206. Bolla Ropal died from being tortured which would be first-degree murder. Cal. Penal Code § 189.
Cad Bane ultimately gained access to the kyber crystal, which allowed him to access an untold number of Force-sensitive children. If the Republic, or planet within the Republic had a data breach law like California’s, things would get messy fast. The fact Bane was able to access encrypted personal identifiable information, means that an unauthorized person accessed the data, which would require the Jedi to inform those whose data was breached. Cal Civ Code § 1798.29.
There was just one problem: the Jedi did not have the list of the Force-sensitive children within their control. They literally had to use the Force to figure out children who were potentially at risk.
Children of the Force
Darth Sidious is really bad with Younglings. Cad Bane’s scope of work was expanded to taking Force-sensitive children from their parents. Bane posed as a Jedi and took two children from their families. This is kidnapping, which is when any person who takes another person into another country, state, or county. Cal. Penal Code § 207.
Mustafar would be high on the list of where NOT to take a child under any circumstance.
The children were kidnapped in order for Darth Sidious to conduct medical experiments upon them (foreshadowing what ultimately would be Inquisitors in Star Wars Rebels). There is no way these experiments would have been legal. In order for any medical experiments to be authorized, the parents would have needed to give their informed consent, which would have needed to include the a) nature and purpose of the experiment; b) an explanation of the medical procedures; c) a description of the risks reasonably expected from the experiment; d) explanation of the benefits of the experiment; e) explanation of alternative procedures; f) be informed of the avenues of medical treatment, if any, available to the subject after the experiment if complications should arise; g) Be given an opportunity to ask any questions concerning the experiment or the procedures involved; h) be instructed that consent to participate in the medical experiment may be withdrawn at any time and the subject may discontinue participation in the medical experiment without prejudice; i) Be given a copy of the signed and dated written consent form; and j) be given the opportunity to decide to consent or not to consent to a medical experiment without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, or undue influence on the subject’s decision. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 24172.
The parents of the Force-sensitive children had no such opportunities, because their children were KIDNAPPED! Moreover, Darth Sidious took the position that if the children died, he lost nothing.
That is not the sort of guy you want as a babysitter.
The entire story arch of Darth Sidious retaining Cad Bane to murder, steal personal identifiable information, and kidnap children for medical experimentation, shows how “dark” the Dark Side is for achieving universal domination at any cost. These are great episodes and worthy of re-watching.
Smugglers Run in Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland is a dream come true for any fan of Star Wars. It is a wicket good time, regardless if the first time you saw the Millennium Falcon was at a drive-in theater, VHS tape, DVD, Blu Ray, or Streaming. We live in an age of wonder where entering Galaxy’s Edge is like walking into a Star Wars movie.
It is also a great lesson in to break all sorts of laws.
The ride’s story is as follows: Hondo Ohnaka (from Clone Wars and Rebels) has formed Ohnaka Transport Solutions, which is based the Black Spire on Batuu, which is operating the Millennium Falcon on loan from Chewbacca. The “job” from Ohnaka Transport Solutions is to intercept a First Order train shipment of Coaxium on Corellia. Let’s jump to lightspeed over the legal issues with such an endeavor.
Are We Space Pirates or Privateers?
Traveling through space to “appropriate” hyper-fuel from the First Order sounds a lot like piracy. The law defines piracy as, “Any illegal acts of violence, detention or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed.” 1958 U.S.T. LEXIS 31, Article 15, section 1 (The Convention of the High Seas).
The Millennium Falcon is a private aircraft that was used to shoot down First Order Tie Fighters in order to shoot at a train for the goal of capturing its cargo. That meets the textbook definition of piracy. However, such a reading of the law ignores the fact the First Order was a political movement that destroyed the Republic with Starkiller Base. That is not the basis for forming a government, to say nothing about the consent of the governed. The First Order at its core is a terrorist group that was successful in committing genocide of Hosnian Prime. They are nothing but war criminals that murder civilians by the billions.
From a certain point of view, Ohnaka Transport Solutions could be viewed as employing privateers with the Millennium Falcon. The early definition of a “privateer” is a vessel owned by one or by a society of private individuals, armed and equipped at his or their expense, for the purpose of carrying on a maritime war, by the authority of one of the belligerent parties. Bouvier, 1853, PRIVATEER, war. It is worth noting that privateers are now banned under the Hague Convention VII of 1907, the Convention Relating to the Conversion of Merchant Ships into War.
In our case, Chewbacca is a member of the Resistance, the presumptive legal owner of the Falcon (there is a chance it could belong to Leia, but certainly not Kylo Ren after killing Han Solo, because murdering a parent would cut off his inheritance). Chewbacca loaned the Falcon with the express purpose of a military operation against the First Order. The First Order’s destruction of the capital of the New Republic was the first shot in a war over freedom verse tyranny. This makes anything for the First Order’s war effort a legitimate military target. As such, the Falcon being sent on a mission to harm the war effort of the First Order would make Ohnaka Transport Solutions engaged in privateering.
There are some imperfections to the argument; given there is no longer a government for the New Republic. However, given every nation does have a right to self-defense, no one has to bow down to the First Order.
Train Wrecking
The only way to steal the Coaxium on the train carrying the fuel was to shoot the train, causing one of the cars to derail. This is the black letter law definition of “train wrecking.” California Penal Code § 218 defines the law as follows:
Every person who unlawfully throws out a switch, removes a rail, or places any obstruction on any railroad with the intention of derailing any passenger, freight or other train, car or engine, or who unlawfully places any dynamite or other explosive material or any other obstruction upon or near the track of any railroad with the intention of blowing up or derailing any such train, car or engine, or who unlawfully sets fire to any railroad bridge or trestle, over which any such train, car or engine must pass with the intention of wrecking such train, car or engine, is guilty of a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life without possibility of parole.
Flying the Falcon behind the train, shooting at train cars, and harpooning the Coaxium, is the use of explosives to blow up the train, causing a derailment. Flight crews could be charged and convicted of train wrecking, if this was an ordinary crime not committed as a war time measure against the First Order.
Smuggling
Since the name of the ride is Smugglers Run, it is illegal to smuggle goods into or out of the United States. See, 18 U.S.C.S. §§ 554 and 545. The relevant issue for the independent contractors employed by Ohnaka Transport Solutions, is the Falcon is being used to transport hyper-fuel. Ironically there is not much in trying to conceal the fuel in the heist, because it is an armed attack on a First Order train. That aside, the ride Smugglers Run does live up to the legal definition of smuggling.
Thoughts on Smugglers Run
Smugglers Run sets a new gold standard for amusement park rides. The line experience takes attendees through passageways that look like the halls of Hoth or Yavin IV. The attention to detail is mindblowing. Highly recommend visiting Galaxy’s Edge, preferably with friends and family.
