- This vide is made
possible by CuriosityStream. By clicking the link in the description, you'll also get Nebula for free, the streaming platform made
by and for creators like me. Needless to say, Kevin
intentionally caused quite a bit of bodily harm to both
Harry and Marv, for example. (shoe squeaks)
(yells) (playful music) - Hello.
(gun fires) (yelling) - You could argue that Kevin McCallister is a criminal mastermind up there with Jigsaw and Martha Stewart. - Keep the change, you filthy animal. (dramatic music) (upbeat music) Hey Legal Eagles and
welcome back to Laws Broken, where an attorney destroys your favorite childhood movies by showing
you how illegal everything is, because everything is illegal. Now I'm sure most of
you have seen Home Alone at one time or another. You know, it's the
heartwarming holiday movie where Macaulay Culkin
AKA Kevin McCallister gets left behind by his 25-person family right before Christmas
and then has to fight off a pair of criminals who are
determined to rob his house and kill him, you know, the typical heartwarming family Christmas movie. Or at the very least, Kids Die Hard. Now obviously, Harry and Marv, AKA the Wet Bandits are criminals. We'll go into great detail
about their criminal exploits, but is it possible that other characters may be far more sinister
than the Wet Bandits? Is it possible that Harry and
Marv simply had the misfortune to stumble upon a nefarious
criminal enterprise already in progress? Well let's start by examining perhaps the true criminals of this holiday movie, the worst parents in the world,
Mr. and Mrs. McCallister. - Kevin! - Now as we all know, the power goes out at the McCallister
residence the night before they're scheduled for an
international flight to Paris, and when they wake up in the morning, they rush to get to the
plane with only 45 minutes before their plane takes
off, and once on the plane, Kevin's mom famously says. - Hope we didn't forget anything. - Unfortunately, Kevin's parents
have left him home alone. - I made my family disappear. - No, Kevin didn't make
his parents disappear, they abandoned him. - What kind of mother am I? - If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses. - And I'm sure many of you
feel for the McCallisters and realize it's not
that easy to keep track of so many kids, but in reality, both Mr. and Mrs. McCallister
could be found guilty of either child abandonment
or child endangerment. A person commits child
abandonment when he or she as a parent, guardian,
or other person having physical custody or control of a child without regard for the
mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that child, knowingly leaves that child
who is under the age of 13 without supervision by
a responsible person over the age of 14 for a
period of 24 hours or more. Now here, Kevin is a mere eight years old, five years younger than the minimum age under the child abandonment
statute, and is left alone all by himself without
any kind of supervision. - Guys, I'm eating junk
and watching rubbish, you better come out and stop me. - Now I'm sure the
McCallisters would argue that they didn't knowingly
leave Kevin all alone, it was just a horrible mistake. - Did you count heads? - 11 including me, five boys, six girls, four parents, two drivers, and
a partridge in a pear tree. - Now unfortunately for the McCallisters, getting stuck on the plane
and eventually the airport in Paris doesn't necessarily
help them all that much. It might drop the charge
down from child abandonment to just simply negligent parenting, but the bottom line is
that Kevin was probably home alone for multiple days
without any supervision. Such abandonment could amount to a class four felony in Illinois. I mean, Kevin is a small
child who can't even pack his own suitcase. - He's what the French call
(speaking in foreign language). - And what's worse is
Kevin's parent could also be found guilty of child endangerment for leaving him all alone. In Illinois, a person who
causes or permits a child to be placed in a
situation which endangers the child's life or health could be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. So maybe next time, the
McCallisters should keep track of where their children are, or, ya know, set multiple alarms so they're
not late for their flight. And by the way, stick around
until the end of this video where I give a verdict
for how long everyone, including Kevin's parents,
are going to jail. But that takes us to the most traditional criminal wrongdoers in this whole affair, the so-called Wet Bandits
themselves, Harry and Marv. - Crowbars up. (bars clink) - Now of course, Harry
starts off the movie strong by dressing up like a police officer. Quite clearly, Harry is
impersonating a police officer to get some inside intel on the
McCallisters' holiday plans. That is that they'll be out
of town during the holidays, leaving the perfect opportunity
for a career burglar to break in and take whatever
the McCallisters have. - You're taking a trip to Paris? - Yes, we have to leave tomorrow morning. - Excellent. - Now, the McCallisters
live in Winnetka, Illinois, and Illinois, as in any other jurisdiction in the United States,
it is completely illegal to impersonate a police officer. In Illinois, this
particular criminal offense is called False Personation. It can get you up to
three years in prison, among other sentences, so think about that next time you and your friends decide to dress up as the fuzz for Halloween. - That's a good idea. - So now with all of this
fraudulently acquired information about when all the neighbors are going to leave town,
Harry and Marv sit down and conveniently conspire
to commit burglary, criminal trespass, and grand larceny. - Check it out, all the
houses with nobody home have automatic timers on their lights, and I got it all figured out, watch this. Now. - Because Marv has entered
into a conspiracy with Harry, he's now on the hook for all of the crimes that Harry has committed in
furtherance of this conspiracy, so that means Marv is also now on the hook for criminal personation. As part of that criminal conspiracy, Harry and Marv attempt to
burgle the McCallister house, but are only thwarted at the last minute when they get spooked by Kevin. - Get the hell out of here. One, two, 10.
(firecrackers popping) - And although Harry
and Marv are temporarily dissuaded from robbing
the McCallister house, they lick their wounds and
simply drive down the road to then burgle some other
neighbor's house instead. Clearly another example of grand larceny, but because they are the
eponymous Wet Bandits, they can't help themselves
but clog up the sinks in the house to cause wanton
destruction of property. So again, even though it's only Marv that is committing this felonious act, both of them are on the hook for intentional destruction of property. These people won't be back for days, and the Wet Bandits have struck, leaving their house in shambles. Now in between their various burglaries, the two could probably also
be convicted of stalking. In Illinois, if someone
simply engages in a course of conduct which they know
would cause the target or person to fear for their safety, they may be guilty of stalking, and here Harry and Marv are
driving around the neighborhood in the creepy work van following
little Kevin McCallister in probably such a way
that would cause him to fear for his safety. (tires squeal)
(Kevin screams) And finally, after
Harry and Marv's attempt to burgle the McCallisters as
Kevin gets the best of them, they attempt to serious maim or kill Kevin for all of his traps. (dramatic music) - Hiya pal. We outsmarted you this time. - But luckily, they get bashed in the head by a kid old man. (shovel bangs)
(groans) Wait. Now given the severity of what Harry says he's going to do to Kevin. - What are we gonna do to him, Harry? - Do exactly what he did to us. Gonna burn his head with a blow torch. - And given that he is in
the heat of the moment, this is probably attempted
second degree murder. But now let's talk
about how Harry and Marv found themselves in this situation. Let's talk about the criminal liability of little Kevin McCallister,
AKA the Puppet Master. (dramatic music) (gun cocks) Like most criminals,
Kevin starts off small. He starts off the movie by
assaulting his older brother Buzz simply for some harmless taunting. - Did anyone order me a plain cheese? - Oh yeah we did, but if you want any, somebody's gonna have to barf it all up. (yelling) - Then having acquired a taste for blood, Kevin moves on to the wanton destruction of Buzz's property and theft. (playful music) (shelf clatters)
(Kevin yells) Now arguably this wasn't
done intentionally, so perhaps the destruction
of property gets knocked down to simply negligent
destruction of property, but he's very clearly stealing
from his older brother. - [Kevin] All right, Buzz's life savings. - And to add insult to injury, the heartless (bleep) then
taunts Buzz's girlfriend. - Buzz, your girlfriend, woof. - Now having been
emboldened by petty theft, Kevin moves on to some public shoplifting. - [Clerk] Wait son, you have
to pay for that toothbrush. Son, son, hey! - And while Kevin seems like the victim in this situation, I assure you he is not. - Shoplifter! (gasps)
(tense music) - And although Kevin didn't quite intend to take the toothbrush when
he ran out of the store, one could argue that he's
guilty of what's called retail theft under Illinois law because he knowingly
carried the toothbrush away from him and away from the store. - I'm a criminal. - But all of those offenses were simply baby town frolics and
preparation for the main event. Can Kevin McCallister really create a nightmare house of booby traps to punish Harry and Marv for the attempts to burgle his own house? Well, in Illinois, in the
absence of any defenses, one is guilty of battery
and probably assault as well if they cause bodily
harm to an individual. Needless to say, Kevin
intentionally caused quite a bit of bodily harm to both
Harry and Marv, for example. (shoe squeaks)
(yelling) (glass shatters)
(yelling) (iron bangs)
(grunts) (skin sizzles)
(yelling) You could argue that Kevin McCallister is a criminal mastermind up there with Jigsaw and Martha Stewart. - Look what you did, you little jerk. - I'm sorry. - Now if convicted of
battery, Kevin could receive up to a year in jail for each attempt, though that sentence
would probably be modified since he's a juvenile who wouldn't likely be tried as an adult. Though the complexity of these death traps does evidence an adult-like temperament if not straight-up psychosis. - You guys give up or
you thirsty for more? - However, thankfully for Kevin, Illinois statutes allow
for both self-defense and defense of the home. That means that in certain cases, one can use physical
force to defend themselves against another or to
defend their property. So long as Kevin reasonably believes that force was necessary to defend himself and his gigantic family's home, he could get off scot free. Though I think everyone knows that the better course of action
is simply call the police instead of rigging your
house with death traps. - Marv. - Harry? - Why the hell did you
take your shoes off? - Why the hell are you
dressed like a chicken? - Now the defense of self
defense and defense of property generally applies to the non-deadly traps, but does it apply to everything? (rock music) Of course, we love to talk
about the use of deadly force on this channel, here most
of the traps in question are arguably not inherently deadly. (fan whirs) But some of those traps
are as deadly as they get. I mean, those paint cans
could crush your skull. - Heads up! (grunts) (yells) - And that's a flamethrower. (yelling) So generally speaking, a person can use non-deadly force against another when he or she reasonably
believes that is necessary to prevent or terminate
another's unlawful entry into or attack onto a dwelling. Now under Illinois law,
a person can only use deadly force if an entry
to the house is made in a violent, riotous,
or tumultuous manner, and there is a reasonable belief
that the force is necessary to prevent an assault or personal violence against the victor or
another in the dwelling, or if the person reasonably
believes the force is necessary to prevent a
felony from being committed. So this that standard met? Well, Marv and Harry enter multiple times, sometimes quietly. (tapping) - We know that you're in there, and that you're all alone. - Sometimes in ways
that might be considered violent, riotous, or tumultuous. (dramatic music) (clattering) - Where are you, you little creep? - And by the way, if you
want to know what happened in the real-life case of
when someone rigged up a shotgun booby trap in their own house, check out the link in the description to the animated true crime
video that I just did about the case of the shotgun booby trap. The link is in the description. So we know that the first
element for use of deadly force is probably met under these circumstances, but when you're talking about
entering into the house, a few of you real legal eagles out there are probably thinking
about the duty to retreat, because at common law,
you can't use deadly force if you have the ability to retreat safely. And some states have
passed so-called castle or stand your ground laws that
reverse the common law rule and allow you to use deadly force whether you can safely
retreat or not, and Illinois, as it happens, doesn't have
a stand your ground law, but it does have a castle law. So to the extent that
Kevin is using deadly force in self defense in his own home, he does not have a duty to retreat and he can use deadly
force in self defense. - Keep the change, you filthy animal. - But that complicates things because Kevin eventually leaves his own house, and so having retreated from his home, he can no longer use deadly
force to defend himself, because he can retreat safely. So cutting Harry and Marv
down is arguably battery, if not attempted murder, given how high they are up in the air. - Hey guys, check this out. (yelling) - The little psychopath
has really grown up. - Keep the change, you filthy animal. - Now before we tally
up all the sentences, let's spend a moment to
examine the little crimes that are just too small to go
into any particular detail, like the pizza boy's
destruction of property and reckless driving. (statue clatters) Uncle Frank's casual theft. - That's real, that's
real crystal, that's real. Put them in your purse. - Frank! - Put them, put them, put them. - We can't do that. - Put them in your purse. - And use of illegal fireworks indoors. - [Kevin] Cool, firecrackers,
I'll save these for later. (firecrackers banging) - But all right, it's time for a verdict. Let's tally up the crimes. (rock music) So let's start with Kevin's parents, Mr. and Mrs. McCallister. They are accused of
felony child abandonment and child endangerment. - I hope you don't mean that. Kevin! - That carries with it a
maximum sentence of six years in prison, but given the
mitigating circumstances, the first time offense,
and the fact that Kevin lived the life of luxury
when he wasn't abandoned, they'd probably get a year of probation, and I think that we can
assume that Peter McCallister would hire a really good lawyer because he appears to
be incredibly wealthy. - Am I under arrest or something? - That brings us to Harry and Marv. They're accused of dozens of burglaries, as proven by their Wet
Bandit calling card. - Nice move, always
leaving the water running. Now we know each and every
house that you've hit. - Each one carries with it a maximum of seven years in prison. In total, they'd probably look at five to 10 years in
jail for the burglaries. Then they'd get six years in jail for impersonating a police officer, then for the attempted
homicide of Kevin McCallister, or at least the aggravated
battery of a minor, tack on another 10 years. Finally that takes us to the puppet master himself,
Kevin McCallister. His shoplifting would be pleaded down to a misdemeanor at most. Now attempted homicide
would normally carry at least a five-to-10-year penalty under these circumstances,
but no jury would ever convict an eight-year-old of living
out a revenge fantasy in the suburbs of Illinois, so the puppet master goes
free to maim and kill again. - Did I burn down the joint? I don't think so. (yelling) - While Kevin created
a fun house of horrors for Harry and Marv, my
friends and I were busy building a playground
for YouTube creators. In fact, if you liked this episode, I posted all of my bloopers exclusively on our own streaming platform. (popping) It's called Nebula, and we are thrilled to be partnering with CuriosityStream. We built Nebula as a place where creators don't need to worry about demonetization or the dreaded algorithm. I fact, I wouldn't be
surprised if I got demonetized for showing scenes from a PG movie. Won't someone please
think of the children? - Hello.
(gun fires) - Because it's hard out
there being a creator. Nebula is a place where creators can do what they do best, create. It's a place where we can
both house our content ad-free and also experiment
with new original series that probably wouldn't work on YouTube because of the algorithm. For less than 20 cents
per day, or $20 a year, you can help a struggling YouTuber, link in the description. Okay enough of that. When I saw that Nebula is
built by creators for creators, I really mean it. Nebula features lots of
YouTube's top educational-ish creators like Real Engineering,
Half As Interesting, TierZoo, Knowing Better, Real
Life Lore and tons of others. We also get to collaborate in ways that probably wouldn't work
on YouTube, for example, the Nebula exclusive series
called Working Titles where every episode a
different creator breaks down their favorite TV intro sequence. Polyphonic did Game of Thrones, me and Mulder did Battlestar Galactica, and I'll be covering Law
& Order very, very soon. (gavel bangs) Seriously, we worked really hard on this and we're really proud of the results. The project is self-funded, we're not backed by investors, and we manage to make all of this ad free with no dreaded algorithm. - And there's plenty more
where that came from. - So what does this have
to do with CuriosityStream? Well they love educational
content and educational creators, so they are a perfect partner for Nebula. We just recently worked out a deal where if you sign up for CuriosityStream with the link in the description, not only will you get
a one month free trial for CuriosityStream, but you'll also get a Nebula subscription for free. And to be clear, that Nebula
subscription is not a trial, it's free for as long as you're
a CuriosityStream member, which means that for less than $20 a year, not only do you get unlimited access to CuriosityStream's massive library of gorgeous, high-budget documentaries, you'll also get to enjoy
the private playground of YouTube's best educational creators for no additional charge,
and you'll be supporting creators like me directly. Just go to CuriosityStream.com/LegalEagle. So if you sign up using that link below, not only will you be able to access CuriosityStream's amazing documentaries like 101 Events That
Made the 20th Century, which includes my favorite
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subscription to Nebula for as long as you are a
member to CuriosityStream. Seriously, it's less than 20 bucks a year, just click on the link. So do you agree with my verdict? Leave your objections in the comments, and check out how many laws were broken in your other favorite
movies like Jurassic Park and The Dark Knight over
here in this playlist, where I'll see you in court.
