4 ms·
I'd be very careful about doing this - it appears illegal and could lead to civil and criminal sanctions against the person who left the blank-filled package.
by geebee 9y ago
I'd be very careful about doing this - it appears illegal and could lead to civil and criminal sanctions against the person who left the blank-filled package. This concern is confirmed by statements from the police in this article.
There are a couple of scenarios that worry me here. First, suppose a neighbor (perhaps a child) sees or hears about a package thief in the area and decides to take the packages for safekeeping until the owner is back. The neighbor grabs a blank loaded package, is terrified, and falls down the stairs suffering injury (IANAL, but let's get law student case study-ish here and say "suffers grievous bodily injury"). My guess is that the case against the property owner who set the booby trapped package would be strong, and criminal charges are possible here as well.
Now, replace the above scenario where it is a thief? My understanding is that the property owner could still be charged and/or sued.
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoIsn't there something about you can't sue for damages incurred during the commission of a felony? Or is that just TV cop shows.
- geebee 9y agoSorry, IANAL. My guess is that there are probably some legal protections in that situation, but not enough to shield you from criminal charges or lawsuits. But I don't really know.
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoA quick google turns up the doctrine of 'unclean hands' but not sure what that it.
- smt88 9y agoSome states have statutes against using dangerous defenses against property crimes. For example, those laws make it illegal to shoot someone to death for stealing a purse or to write a bomb to explode if your bike is stolen. On another note, I'm pretty sure stealing a package isn't a felony. It's not as serious as stealing US mail out of a mailbox.
- vladsanchez 9y agoYeah right, ScumBagAmerica can sue you? You're not a lawyer but you certainly show good enough background to support a frivolous case. It really baffles me to think anyone trying to protect their property would be sued by someone trying to steal their property. (facepalm)
- sjg007 9y agoYou can resolve your misunderstanding using your favorite search engine. You can be sued if someone injures themselves on your property, even if they are trespassing. They may not have a strong claim if the injury was self-sustained during a trespass, but if you caused the injury either directly or indirectly by negligence you would probably be liable. Certainly, setting a blank box or not posting warnings about known hazards would not help your case.
- gamblor956 9y agoCommon law courts (US and UK) have historically looked disfavorably upon the use of traps to harm intruders. Courts draw a very bright line between the defense of persons and the defense of property. Harming an intruder to defend yourself or others is generally defensible unless overwhelming disproportionate. Harming an intruder to defend property is almost never defensible in court under tort law. Negligence is different--intruders have sued for injuries suffered due to the negligence of homeowners and generally have lost, as a homeowner owes no duty of care to an intruder. (In rare cases, the intruders have won, usually on the basis of facts specific to the intrusion at issue.)