Andrew McClurg

there's a very good likelihood that, especially at night, I could legally shoot them because then we would be switching from the defense of property to self-defense, or if I had a family living there, other people living there, defense of others.

So you can use deadly force often to protect yourself or other people, just not property.

And not only does he win, he wins not just compensatory damages to compensate him for his injuries and medical expenses, but punitive damages, which are an add-on type of damage that is quite rare, actually, and designed to punish particularly egregious conduct.

No, no.

Today, it would be a crime in most states.

Back then, it probably was not technically a crime.

They were $20,000 in actual compensatory damages and $10,000 in punitive damages, but it would actually be substantially more in today's dollars.

And as a result, the Brineys, and this was partly what really stirs up students, the Brineys had to sell 80 acres of their farm to pay the judgment to the criminal who broke into their house.

So what usually happens is people will usually speak up in favor of the court's decision, that is, in favor of Marvin Katko winning, that you shouldn't be able to use deadly booby traps.

So I have to kind of play along with it and draw out the people who

don't want to come across as cold-hearted or cold-blooded to start defending the Brownies.

But once they get going, they really get going on it.

And then somebody, I find somebody who's vociferously sticking up for the Brownies.

And then I say, how many people in here, because law school classes, first year classes are pretty large.

It might be 70, 80 people there.

I said, how many people in here ever entered

illegally any kind of structure on somebody else's property when they were a kid, whether it's a shed or a barn or an abandoned house.

And almost every single person raises their hands.

But a lot of people in the town sided with the Brineys.

So one of the most notable and earliest cases was a case from England in 1825, so almost 200 years ago, called Byrd v. Holbrook.