ChrisAU,

Those burglary cases where they sue the homeowner are absolutely ridiculous and very rare, and that is why they make national news.

Just like that stupid McDonald's coffee burning the old lady. That was one crazy jury that gave the lady one day of McDonald's profit off of coffee (which happened to be a lot of $$$). It is cases like that that make people think they found gold when they slip and fall.

I hear you on being able to do what you want with your property, but I think everyone is saying that the lawyer will have an easy time making you look really bad (some kid, with nice parents and his preacher sitting in the courtroom, was riding his 4 wheeler and going fast and didn't realize where he was or that he was trespassing. You will be asked, "what did you think would happen if someone drove through there?").

This is very similar to the debate about spring guns (set them up at businesses to shoot a burglar breaking in). I used to think people should be able to do that. But if you think about it, do we want to encourage people to set up death traps? There have been a few cases where innocent people (like an employee who forgot his key) was shot by one. They will prosecute you for a spring gun, not b/c they think the burglar is so noble, but b/c we don't want to encourage vigilante justice.