Hypothetical Question....

Law school is in full bloom in our apartment. Caleb is really enjoying his classes. Most of his homework seems to be reading and analyzing case studies and he likes to include me. Every now and again, he'll come out of the office and the conversation always starts like this "hypothetical question..." We then discuss ridiculous situations and he tries to teach me the law. Here are a few samples from today:

Hypothetical question......
Caleb: Say I punched you in the face, what can you do in return?
Me: Can I punch you back?
Caleb: Yes, if it was self-defense. What if I run at you with a knife?
Me: Can I steal your knife and stab you to death?
Caleb: Only if you thought my intention was to kill you.
Me: Ok, could I stab you once and run away?
Caleb: Yes.
Stephanie: What if my one stab accidentally kills you. Am I then liable?
Caleb: Not if it was really an accident.
Stephanie's Lessons learned: Self-Defense is a tricky subject. Basically your response cannot be greater than the attackers. This conversation led to this one...

Hypothetical question.......
Caleb: Say I broke into your house and tried to steal all of your things.
Me: Could I shoot you?
Caleb: Not if I had no intent to injury you.
Me: Bummer.
Caleb: Remember, you can only kill me if I threatened to kill you. What if you rigged up a shotgun to shoot if anyone broke through the door. Are you liable if I am shot breaking into your house.
Me: Um, no. Your fault... you chose the wrong house to break into!
Caleb: Actually, you are. Remember, I had no intent to injure you, just steal your stuff so your response (the shotgun) was too extreme.
Stephanie's Lessons learned: The only crime where you can kill someone outright no matter what is if they are trying to rape you. Also, do not rig up a shotgun in my deserted property.

A little while later, Caleb walks into the bedroom:

Hypothetical question.......
Caleb: Say you own some property in the forest, but you don't actually live there. There is constantly people breaking in and stealing stuff so you put up a barbed wire fence. A thief gets caught in your fence and is injured. Are you liable if they sue?
Me: No way! They were stealing and on MY property!
Caleb: Actually, unless you have a no trespassing sign, you are liable.
Me: Really? Wow. Ok, let's change this scenario. Say I'm a crazy old lady with bear traps in my yard. Innocent hiker gets lost in the forest, stumbles upon my yard and gets caught in a trap. Am I liable?
Caleb: Yes, I believe so.
Me: What if I had a no trespassing sign....
Caleb: I don't know. I better keep reading...
Stephanie's Lessons learned: No trespassing signs are very valuable and powerful tools. Caleb will get back to me at a later date to tell me just how powerful.

This is where our conversation has ended so far this evening. Obviously, I am learning alot about the law. I just hope our neighbors can't here are conversations through the walls or they may think we are crazy or extremely violent.

And before you think I'm incredibly selfish and not sharing what I'm learning with Caleb in return, he has already asked me to explained the security implications of the monsoon floods in Pakistan. But... its midnight and we're both still studying so I'll share that with you all another time!

Goodnight and Happy Labor Day!