Do you remember Katko v Briney (the spring gun case)? Here is the lawyer who represented the defendant!

Way back when you took Torts, your probably read a case discussing whether a property owner can "defend" property from trespassers by using a spring gun.  The case is in every Torts casebook I have reviewed, and Prosser's even has a photo of the defendant.

In any case, the defendant's lawyer was interviewed recently and you can read the interview  here.  The 93-year-old just retired after 66 years of practice.  His reaction when Katko came to him with the case:  "Damn, this will be fun."

Thanks to the TortsProf blog for the link.

More on the right to use force to defend property and in self defense

Prof. Jonathan Turley has a series of posts on his website on recent developments in this area. For example, go here for a report of a recent case in Montana in which Prof. Turely explains that "For years, legislators have been passing “castle doctrine” laws or “Make My Day laws” that allow homeowners to use lethal force against anyone who enters their home. While these laws have produced a wide range of controversial shootings (here and here and here and here and here and here), legislators have continued to expand their scope to businesses, cars, and other areas while also expanding the right to carry concealed weapons into churches, bars, schools, school games and workplaces. Some of these laws are called “Make My Day Better laws,” which allow the use of lethal force outside of the home to repel criminals. Montana’s law has sweeping language to protect the “natural right” to use lethal force." Go here for a dicussion of a similar case out of Texas and here for a note on a case in England.

Defense of property, self defense, defense of others etc

The other day in class we discussed the different "privileges" or "defenses" to intentional torts including the so-called "shopkeeper's privilege" and the rights to self defense, to defend others, to defend property and to recover property. By coincidence, I just came across this video in another website, which in a way seems to implicate most of them. It shows the same scene from 4 different angles. The first one suggests a robbery.  Keep watching....


 

Home-invasion death suit settled

This item is not particularly remarkable other than the fact that it deals exactly with what we were talking about in class today. A few days ago, it was reported that a federal civil lawsuit filed against a homeowner who shot and killed two home invaders in 2005 has been settled. The wrongful-death lawsuit was filed by the parents of two young men who were shot and killed as they fled the home of the defendant. For more details on this story (although there aren't that many) go here.