5 ms·

Is it illegal to booby trap your property?

• cortesoft 9y ago
  It is very illegal. Like, violating the Geneva Conventions level illegal: https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/booby-traps/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/booby-traps/
  • sa46 9y ago
    It's true that booby traps are not allowed by the Geneva convention but that convention only applies to conduct in a war. I'm curious what law applies in the US.
    • cortesoft 9y ago
      The Geneva part was a bit of a joke. The laws vary by state, some allow you to use traps as long as they don't cause serious harm, while others don't let you use them at all. No state allows you to set a lethal booby trap. Here is the California law about them: https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2005/pen/12355.html https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2005/pen/12355.html
    • testplzignore 9y ago
      I imagine the castle doctrine would apply. Kevin McCallister could have justifiably killed the burglars in Home Alone. It was actually rather nice of him to just use non-lethal booby traps.
  • cheschire 9y ago
    A civilian booby trapping their lunch in a non-wartime setting is not a Geneva Conventions violation level of illegal.
    • cortesoft 9y ago
      The question was about booby traps on your property in general, not about food.
• idoh 9y ago
  Yes. The basic idea is that you cannot do via a trap what you couldn't do in person, which I think is sensible. If you are not allowed to shoot someone who merely sets foot on your property, then you are also not allowed to rig a shotgun to a tripwire that does the same thing.
  • sverige 9y ago
    The relevant case is Katko v. Briney. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney