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Clark is supposed to be the good guy in this movie, right?
I have a pet theory that Clark Griswold
changes his name to Pierce Hawthorne
and goes into hiding after the events of this movie.
- I'll be a living god!
(rock music) (shattering)
- 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.
It's that time of year again,
the time when everyone on Twitter says
their favorite Christmas movie is "Die Hard."
Well, let me settle this once and for all.
- "Die Hard"
is not a Christmas movie!
- "Die Hard" is a Christmas song.
But regardless of that controversy,
let's all acknowledge that Chevy Chase
is the true hero of Christmas.
Everyone watches (whooshing)
National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation"
at least twice during the holiday season
because nothing says Christmas like Clark Griswold.
- This is Clark Griswold and his family.
- Welcome to our home.
- And we have so much empathy with Clark
having to deal with his eccentric relatives
that we completely overlook the fact
that Clark has absolutely no regard for the law whatsoever.
Once Clark starts degrading the neighborhood
with broken windows and trees and overloaded power strips,
other more serious crimes start to pile up.
In fact, Clark Griswold may even be
a crime boss in the making.
And you thought your family holidays were bad.
So let's examine the laws broken
in National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation."
(metal ladder clanking)
- I hope he falls and breaks his neck.
- I'm sure he'll fall, but I don't think we're
lucky enough to have him break his neck.
- All right, here we have our first entry
into the war between the Griswolds
and their yuppy neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester.
And you may have lived next to a Todd,
the uppity neighbor who thinks that he's better than you
and he's above silly Christmas lights.
He's probably the president of your HOA
ready to enforce all the neighborhood rules
with an iron Apple pencil.
Or maybe you've experienced living next to a Clark.
The dope who doesn't care if his lawn
or decorations or family invades your space.
Really, both of these guys are very likely to have been
the subject of an r/AITA subreddit.
And if you know what that acronym means, you AITA.
Now, Clark threatens to stick
a chainsaw up a Margo's whatever.
- Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?
- Bend over and I'll show you. - You've got a lot of nerve
talking to me like that, Griswold.
- I wasn't talking to you.
- What a great family man.
And a lot of the movie's slapstick elements involve
self-inflicted injuries to Clark.
(staple gun banging) - Ow!
(banging)
- But he gets plenty of hits in
on other people and property as well.
Clark's adventures in Christmas decorations leads directly
to a piece of gutter going through the neighbor's window.
(glass shattering)
(exploding)
You may think that was just a harmless accident,
but Clark has no remorse for what he did.
So let's talk about criminal damage to property.
Clark's mishap with the gutter is
the first blow against law and order.
Now, this is possibly criminal damage
to property under Illinois law.
And under Illinois law,
a person is guilty of criminal damage
if they perform (whooshing)
any of the following acts
without the consent of the property owner.
One, (whooshing)
damages any property of another.
Two, (whooshing)
recklessly, by means of fire or explosive,
damages someone's property.
Three, (whooshing)
knowingly starts a fire on someone's land.
Four, (whooshing)
knowingly injures someone else's pet.
And five, (whooshing)
intentionally places a stink bomb
or any other offensive smelling compound
on the land or in the building of another
with the intent to interfere with its use.
And by the end of this movie,
Clark will have committed basically,
all five of these types of criminal damage.
Clark pretty clearly damaged his neighbor's house.
The penalties for criminal damage are based
on the dollar amount of the damage caused
or the type of property that was damaged.
Here, this is a broken window,
but he's going to have to pay for it.
A violation of this first subsection is
a Class A misdemeanor as long as the damage
does not exceed $500.
I don't think the damage here exceeds 500 on the window.
However, this is not the last offense.
So let's talk about the electrical code violations.
Clark doesn't stop with accidentally vandalizing
Todd and Margo's house.
Next, he engineers a power surge
that takes out the city's entire power grid.
The city has to switch to nuclear auxiliary power.
This may look like a simple mistake,
but Clark could be fined by the city
for his numerous probable code violations.
For example, it's illegal to crowd a service panel.
National electrical codes recommend that a service panel
have a working clearance that is 30 inches wide,
three feet deep, and six feet, eight inches high.
And you tell me,
does it look like they met that requirement here?
National electrical codes also penalize a homeowner
for installing too few receptacles.
The purpose of this of course is
to reduce the use of extension cords.
And when homeowners screw this up,
extension cords are far more likely to start fires
and create a tripping hazard, as we see plenty in this film.
Just check out all of those cords.
The Griswold home is basically a walking fire hazard.
And speaking of hazards and criminals,
once cousin Eddie comes to town,
the pace of serious crimes escalates.
And would you believe that Randy Quaid is actually crazier
than his onscreen counterpart, cousin Eddie.
2020 has been rough on us all.
And here is one of the most infamous scenes
in this entire movie.
- What are you looking at?
- [Clark] An asshole in his bathrobe
emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer.
(motor whirring) - Shitter was full.
- Yes, he is emptying a chemical toilet into a storm sewer.
Really, all that's missing from the top
of this RV is a Trump 2020 flag.
But could cousin Eddie perhaps be misinformed?
Sewage from a chemical toilet has to go somewhere.
So could it actually be legal to dump sewage
into the storm sewer?
Well, obviously not.
Cousin Eddie violated Section 21
of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act
which prohibits the open dumping of waste.
Violations under the Illinois EPA are
either a Class A misdemeanor or a Class 4 felony.
In addition, Section 47-5 of the Illinois Criminal Code
provides that dumping garbage, rubbish,
refuse or trash on someone else's property
without their consent is a misdemeanor.
Local Chicago laws also make it illegal to discharge,
quote, "Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance
"capable of creating a public nuisance."
The City of North Chicago prohibits anyone
from dumping anything into storm sewers.
And Winnebago County, Illinois seems to have written
their law with cousin Eddie specifically in mind.
Quote, "No person shall discharge
"or cause to be discharged untreated sewage
"or the contents of any privy vault or chemical toilet
"directly or indirectly to storm sewers."
Chicago takes this pretty seriously.
Just ask Stefan Wohl,
the bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band.
He pleaded guilty to emptying the bus's septic tank
over the Chicago River in 2004, quote,
"drenching passengers on an architectural boat tour
"with 800 pounds of human waste."
Yes, you heard that right, 800 pounds.
- Hidy ho!
- Wohl got 18 months of probation,
150 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine
after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charges
of reckless conduct and water pollution.
He also never drove for the band again.
Now, these are of course,
related to the actions of cousin Eddie,
who is distinct from Clark Griswold,
but it's possible that vicarious liability
could attach to Clark in these circumstances.
But remember our criminal damage to property offense?
Clark could be charged with the fifth kind of offense,
the intentionally placing a stink bomb
or any other offensive smelling compound on the land
or in the building of another
with the intent to interfere with its use.
The police might be able to say that Clark knew darn well
what Eddie was doing to that sewer
and that the resulting stink interfered
with the entire neighborhood.
Luckily for Eddie, there's no law
against public drunkenness in Illinois.
So he only needs to fess up to dumping the toilet.
So now, we're getting down to Clark's baser
criminal instincts where he admits writing a check
without sufficient funds to cover it.
- To make sure the pool goes in as soon as the ground thaws,
I had to lay out the money in advance.
And until this little miracle arrived,
I didn't have enough in my account
to cover the check I wrote.
- Clark's excuse for this is that he really,
really wanted to put a deposit down on a swimming pool
and he assumed his bonus would cover it.
Well, sorry, but that won't cut it
as a defense to check kiting.
Under Illinois criminal law, (sirens wailing)
writing a check when you know you don't have
the funds to cover it is considered
financial institution fraud.
This is considered theft from a financial institution.
And when the total amount of that financial fraud
is between 301 and $10,000, that's a Class 3 felony,
which carries a possible sentence
of up to five years in jail or a fine of up to $25,000.
But then Clark goes on a further crime spree, which again,
inflicts property damage on the Chester house
after the tree smashes into the window.
(glass shattering)
This is Clark's fault and this time the damage is
well above the $500 threshold for a misdemeanor.
The penalty for this criminal charge
could be a Class 4 felony in Illinois
when the damage to the property exceeds $500,
but it doesn't exceed $10,000,
which is punishable by three years in prison
and a fine of up to $25,000.
But the neighbor Margo is not going to take this lying down.
And Margo is fed up with the vandalism to her house,
so she decides to take the law into her own hands.
- I can't just attack someone.
- All right then, if you're not man enough
to put an end to this (beep), then I am.
- She tells Todd she's going to kill Clark
and marches over to his house.
Snots the dog chases after a squirrel
running out of the house and mauls her.
Now, Illinois has a strict liability dog bite law.
(whooshing) Under the statute,
quote, "If a dog or other animal without provocation,
"attacks, attempts to attack,
"or injures any person who is peaceably conducting himself
"or herself in any place where he or she may lawfully be,
"the owner of such dog or other animal
"is liable in civil damages."
The law makes the owner of the dog
or the person controlling it liable
to the injured person in tort.
Now, Margo could claim that the dog was told to attack her,
but that's not necessary for a strict liability offense.
However, on the other side, provocation is a defense.
So Clark might be able to claim that it was
a hideous accident caused by a flying squirrel.
- Squirrel!
- And Margo was in an aggressive posture.
Now, Margo is so pissed off about being attacked,
that she quickly recovers just in time
to punch her husband in the face in anger.
(smacking) (banging)
This is basically turning into a law school
towards hypothetical on steroids.
But under Illinois law,
a person commits battery If he or she knowingly
without legal justification by any means,
one, causes bodily harm to an individual.
This is a Class A misdemeanor,
and she probably doesn't have any defense here.
But luckily, Clark is probably out of the woods
on this particular one.
But that takes us to the darker side of Clark
and potential kidnapping.
When Clark tells the family that his boss
cheated him out of a bonus,
he suggests kidnapping the boss
and having him brought to the house for a beating.
- I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber
over there in Melody Lane with all the other rich people.
And I want him brought right here
with a big ribbon on his head.
- Ever the compliant co-conspirator,
Eddie kidnaps the boss, ties him up,
holds him against as will and brings him to Clark.
- Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, Clark.
You about ready to do some kissin'?
- So by now, Clark Griswold is basically
the Tony Soprano of Winnebago County.
When the police finally arrive,
Clark admits that he is the mastermind behind the crime
and he ordered Eddie to kidnap the boss,
and like any good capo, Eddie did just as he was told.
- It was my fault.
I lost my temper when I got my bonus.
And I, I guess I said a few things I shouldn't have.
- But this was no simple kidnapping.
Aggravated kidnapping includes taking another person
with the intent to collect a ransom
or inflicting any bodily harm on that victim.
Clark wanted a bonus big enough to cover
the $7,500 deposit on a swimming pool.
This could be enough to conclude that the boss was ransomed.
- I have never been treated like this in my life.
- I'm sorry, this is our family's first kidnapping.
- And aggravated kidnapping is a Class 10 felony
with prison terms increasing with the nature of the crime.
First defenses are punishable by a prison term
of six to 30 years with an additional 15 to 25 years,
depending on the severity of the crime.
Second and subsequent offenses are punishable
by life imprisonment and a fine of up to $25,000
and restitution to the victim, whew!
Clark is supposed to be the good guy in this movie, right?
I have a pet theory that Clark Griswold changes his name
to Pierce Hawthorne and goes into hiding
after the events of this movie.
- Pierce, you've had three flu shots.
That's for the daycare center.
- I'll be a living god!
- Now, the best part of this search
for the Griswold family Christmas tree is
Clark leading an expedition through knee-high snow.
We may all dream of striding through the woods
and cutting down a perfect Christmas tree.
But as avid readers of r/treelaw can attest,
you have to consider the location of the tree.
Is this private property?
We're clearly far away from the tree lot at this point.
And that's probably a crime.
This could be trespass or conversion
since the Griswolds are on someone else's land.
They've also violated the Illinois
Wrongful Tree Cutting Act.
Under this law, "Any party to have intentionally cut
"or knowingly caused to be cut any timber or tree,
"other than a tree or woody plant referenced
"in the Illinois Exotic Weed Act,
"which he or she did not have the legal right to cut
"or cause to be cut shall pay the owner of the timber
"or tree three times its stumpage value."
That's an enormous tree that is probably worth
tens of thousands of dollars.
Clark could be on the hook for $50,000.
- The tree is the symbol of the spirit
of the Griswold family Christmas.
- Now, before we tally up all of Clark's crimes
and sentence him to a jail term,
let's look at all the other dishonorable mentions
of minor crimes by others.
(upbeat music)
♪ Christ the lord ♪
- We kick things off with a crime against music
courtesy of Clark and Ellen.
(exploding) Ah, nailed it.
There are enough moving violations
in the scene that we could use it
for a law school exam hypothetical.
And here, this could easily be child endangerment.
Audrey's eyes are literally frozen.
Ellen is skeptical about inviting the whole family
to stay with them for Christmas.
- I think you're forgetting how difficult it's gonna be
having everybody in the house at the same time.
- Well, Ellen, just wait until 2020 when getting
that many family members together
in the house violates several states' COVID 19 orders.
Aunt Bethany puts her cat inside of a box and wraps it up.
They also kill the cat in the middle of this movie.
- That thing had nine lives, she just spent 'em all.
(Eddie laughing)
- And as you know, when it comes to their own misdeeds,
cats are above the law, but it is illegal to harm them.
Illinois makes animal cruelty a misdemeanor.
Sorry Aunt Bethany,
but you'll be spending New Year's behind bars.
A Class C misdemeanor carries a jail stint
of up to 30 days in jail.
- You know, you shouldn't have done that.
- Oh dear, did I break wind?
- And to cap it all off,
Uncle Louis lights a match that sets this sewer aflame.
Are we going to charge this old man with criminal mischief?
Yes, yes we are.
But back to our hero of this movie,
it's now time to sentence Clark Griswold.
(upbeat music) (gavel banging)
(whooshing) Clark Griswold gets
one year in jail and the $25,000 fine
for the felony of dumping.
Three years and $25,000 for the felony
of theft of a financial institution.
One year in jail and a $25,000 fine
for the felony criminal damage to property.
And 10 years in jail for the felony of aggravated kidnapping
for a total of 15 years in prison,
(bell dinging) and fines totaling $75,000.
So confirmed, Clark Griswold is just the worst,
as a matter of law. (bars clanging)
- Hallelujah, holy (beep), where's the Tylenol?
- And if you're the kind of person that loves
destroying Christmas movies,
I continue the legal destruction
of this movie over at Nebula.
I posted a whole extended version of this video on Nebula.
In fact, almost all of my videos have
an ad-free extended version exclusively on Nebula.
Believe it or not,
annoying Christmas light displays have made it
all the way to the Supreme Court.
Because sometimes even legal issues are too hot for YouTube
because YouTube's algorithm can be quite capricious,
which is why my creator friends and I teamed up to build
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It's called Nebula.
And we're thrilled to be partnering with CuriosityStream.
Nebula is a place where creators can do
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It's a place where we can both house our content ad-free,
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and new series that wouldn't work on YouTube.
Not only are my Nebula versions ad-free and extended,
but they're also released early before the YouTube version.
And Nebula features lots of YouTube's top
educational-ish creators like Philosophy Tube,
Maggie Mae Fish, and Adam Neely.
And we also get to collaborate in ways that wouldn't work
on YouTube and put out amazing original content
like Half As Interesting's "Courtroom Drama,"
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Alex Nichols's show "Alex Goes Bananas" where I guest star.
And Lindsay Ellis's documentary
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which I took no part in whatsoever.
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Well, as the go-to source
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they love educational content and educational creators.
And we've worked out a deal where if you sign up
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CuriosityStream is offering 41%
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That's less than $12 a year (bell dinging)
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So do you agree with my analysis?
Do you think Clark should go to jail?
Leave your objections in the comments.
And check out this playlist over here
with all of my other "Laws Broken" videos,
including how many laws Kevin McCallister
broke in "Home Alone."
It's one of my favorite videos ever.
So click on this playlist and I'll see you in court.