Every other Tuesday, the team behind Civics 101 joins NHPR’s All Things Considered host Julia Furukawa to talk about how our democratic institutions actually work.
Christmas is coming, and so is Santa Claus. He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice…and he’s breaking into your home? Civics 101 host Nick Capodice joins Julia this week to explain whether Santa might actually be a criminal.
Transcript
Is Santa breaking the law when he comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve?
Well Julia, this is a tough one. We spoke with a trial lawyer, and he laid out a host of charges that could be levied against the man with the bag: trespassing, burglary — and by the way, burglary has almost entirely been replaced by breaking and entering in the U.S. Also intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. So when coal goes into a naughty child’s stocking, that causes that. Also, we got voyeurism, i.e. ‘he sees you when you're sleeping’ or ‘he knows when you're awake.’ Possible labor violations regarding elves. Manslaughter, if the song is true and he did, in fact, run grandma over with the reindeer. And finally, potential violation of the commerce clause.
What's the charge against Santa that's most likely to stick?
Likely none of them. Especially the myriad ones surrounding burglary and trespassing. And it all comes down, funnily enough, to the milk and cookies. So Julia, have you had a plumber or an electrician come to your house?
Yeah, of course.
So they're not trespassing because you hired them. There is an implied consent that they're coming into your home to do a service. So likewise, leaving out milk and cookies for Santa is a clear implication of implied consent. You're inviting him in. You're rewarding his generosity with baked goods and dairy. So on that one, he's in the clear.
Now, as to the voyeurism question, we don't know exactly how he sees you when you're sleeping, unless he's putting a camera in your bedroom. He's kind of in uncharted waters here.
But crossing international and state lines for commerce. If we consider the milk and cookies to be compensation, that is something he could end up in some hot water about, because all those toys and all that compensatory dairy would have to go through customs.
And are these all criminal charges or civil charges?
They are both. Criminal charges violate a criminal statute, and the guilty party is punished with a fine and or jail time. Civil cases, on the other hand, are where one party is suing another for damages. And just a little more legal vocabulary surrounding criminal charges to keep as much civics as possible in this topic: If a criminal punishment is a year or less, that is called a misdemeanor. Greater than that is a felony.
So Santa could be in violation of the commerce clause. But if he was actually charged, what would be his best offense?
Funnily enough, Julia, you and I live in one of the only states in the country that has a clear out for Santa. New Hampshire is, as far as I know, the only state that informs a jury about something called jury nullification. This is a fascinating legal workaround where the jury can be told, ‘Look, my client is guilty. The opposing counsel is going to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. But the crime itself is unjust. So I'm asking you all, jury, to provide a not guilty verdict.’
Now, I don't think many juries could look Kris Kringle in the eye and say, you should go to jail for giving presents to kids. So he could get a verdict of not guilty, even if he technically was guilty. But if you show a jury OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] violations on the North Pole, we might have a completely different case on our hands.
