
Originally Posted by
Austin
It would be considered setting a trap and you would be liable for damages.
Locally a group of people kept on breaking into this farmers barn and damaging property. It was on private property and there is no way to accidentally get to the barn. So the farmer rigged up a shotgun so when the door opened it would go off. One of the vandals did this with the obvious results. The farmer went to jail and lost all of his property in the lawsuit filed by the vandals family.
Personally I feel that criminals get what they get. But thats not the way the legal system is set up.
The history of 'booby traps' long predates gun-control laws. Before restrictions were placed on gun ownership in the US -- such devices had been outlawed in many states. A lot of innocent people were injured and killed by traps set to stop robbers. People who had legitimate reasons to enter a building or use a machine sometimes found themselves victims to these contraptions so courts have a long history of ruling against the owner who sets one.
I find it interesting that you believe these laws and rulings may apply to this bizarre device. It will be interesting to see what happens in courts if a case where these are involved makes it to court.
You may very well be correct -- limited only by the location of the court.
(Personally, I have this crazy hope that the first US case will be in San Francisco...or maybe DC...or....)
People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.--River Tam