California First-Year Law Students' Exam (Baby Bar) — MCCriminal LawHard
A client, a frustrated homeowner, discovers several valuable antique garden gnomes missing from his front yard. He installs a hidden motion-activated crossbow trap, set to fire at knee-height, near where the gnomes were stolen. Later that night, a neighborhood teenager attempting to retrieve a lost ball triggers the trap and is severely injured. What is the client's criminal liability for the teenager's injury?
- ANo liability, as the teenager was trespassing.
- BLiable only if he intended to injure the teenager specifically.
- CNo liability, as he was defending his property.
- DLiable for criminal battery or assault, as deadly force cannot be used solely to protect property.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Liable for criminal battery or assault, as deadly force cannot be used solely to protect property.
Under common law, deadly force (or force likely to cause serious bodily injury) cannot be used solely to protect property. While a homeowner can use reasonable non-deadly force to protect property, setting a trap like a crossbow, capable of inflicting serious injury or death, is generally considered excessive and unlawful for property defense alone. The client would likely be liable for the resulting injury.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Trespassing does not justify the use of deadly force or force likely to cause serious bodily injury.
- B. The intent to set a trap likely to cause serious injury, even without targeting a specific person, can establish the mens rea for a crime like battery or assault with a deadly weapon.
- C. Deadly force is not permissible solely for the defense of property.
Defense of Property (Criminal Law)
The use of non-deadly force to protect one's property from trespass or theft.
- Generally, only non-deadly force is permissible.
- Force must be reasonable under the circumstances.
- Deadly force is only justified if there is also a threat to personal safety (self-defense).
- Booby traps using deadly force are generally illegal.
Memory trick: Rightful defense, with proper pretense.