Could Batman be jailed?

Asuming Batman is caught, is there anything that the police could charge him with that would get him sent to jail, and the charge stick?

After thinking for a while I don't think there is.

Vigilantism... He's not a Vigilante in the proper definition of the word.

Breaking and Entering... There's no evidence beyond testimony.

Wreckless endangerment of a minor... Nope. Batman isn't wreckless and that is easily provable.

Concealment of deadly weapons... He doesn't carry anything more dangerous than you or I can carry. The deadliest thing he carries is a Batarang which doubles as a knife. That's not considered a concealed deadly weapon.

impeding justice or whatever it's called... This about the only one I can see holding as they could claim that he impedes justice by removing evidence from crime scenes, but every time he is seen doing this it is almost always after CSI is done and/or minor stuff that they wouldn't pick up on or use.

It seems to me that if he went to trial he could only be heavily fined (mainly for the car) and nothing else.

I'm sure torture is illegal... well, when conducted by private persons. How many people has Batman (and Spider-Man on that note) hung upside down from a building until they talked? I'm sure that's casually on the level of waterboarding, and since he's not exactly taking them to Cuba to do it... I'm pretty sure that's a crime.

Voyeurism (or whatever it is called for spying on a person without their knowledge or the proper authority), Stalking, and Harassment.

Assault and Battery (thousands of charges)

Any number of anti-Terror charges.

Though he doesn't do it often, he has hit police officers in the past, so assaulting an officer

Likely several different charges depending on the contents of the Utility Belt at time of apprehension, say explosives, most lockguns are restricted to LE officials, and etc.

Endangerment of a minor, doesn't have to be wreckless, he just has to do it.

The Batmobile probably isn't street legal.

Almost everything Batman does in pursuit of his mission is illegal.

Batman being arrested wouldn't be the problem, everyone subsequently learning of his secret identity would be the problem.

Technically he could be, but he wouldn't.

The DCU is pretty pro-superhero, especially compared to the Marvel U, so you probably couldn't find a jury willing to convict him. I mean, you have to consider that if Bruce goes on trial, he'd probably have most of the superhero community willing to get up on the stand and vouch for him. Then, if they send Batman to jail, that's going to set up someone trying to imprison other superheroes, which will last for all of the five minutes it'll take for Joker or Grodd or whoever to start slaughtering folks.

Assault and Battery (thousands of charges) ... The funny thing is that what he does that you are considering here is completely legal.

Any number of anti-Terror charges. ... like?

Though he doesn't do it often, he has hit police officers in the past, so assaulting an officer ... Only one I can remember thus far and that was a set up.

Likely several different charges depending on the contents of the Utility Belt at time of apprehension, say explosives, most lockguns are restricted to LE officials, and etc. ... They'd have to prove he has those things which they can't because the belt is locked and booby trapped. Trying to prove he has it would result in no proof whatsoever and actually lose some evidence.

Endangerment of a minor, doesn't have to be wreckless, he just has to do it... This can be massively argued as putting an incompetent person in a car is endangerment.

The Batmobile probably isn't street legal.... indeed.

Almost everything Batman does in pursuit of his mission is illegal... But it's not, there are only a few things he isn't legally allowed to do, but most of it is perfectly legal. The whole taking down criminals thing is not Vigilantism. To be vigilantism you have to use deadly force and such.

Pretty sure he doesn't have insurance on the Batmobile.

Batman carries with him at most times quite a few objects that are legally restricted or illegal. Explosives, knockout gas, throwing weapons, breaking and entering devices, etc. His vehicles are often full of illegal items as well.

Most of these if prosecuted would result in fines, however, not jail time. His refusal to carry or use firearms is actually a good thing in these cases.

"Vigilantism" in and of itself isn't illegal, because term is rather broad. However, in order to engage in vigilantism, one usually must engage in multiple illegal acts. Breaking and entering, assault, battery, unlawful detention of 'criminals', etc.

Bats has also been responsible for a considerable amount of property destruction, though he usually ends up secretly paying for the repairs later.

So, aside from whatever illegal materials he's caught carrying, it boils down to "what can the Gotham justice system prove that he did?"

At this point, it's no different than having to prove anyone else of a physical crime. You scour crime scenes for evidence, you interview witnesses, you trace money. it would be difficult because Batman tends to be very good at hiding these sort of things, but not impossible - remember that Tim Drake as a mere college student figured out who Batman was all by himself, before he became Robin.



-np

wouldn't you need to find 12 gothamites who would render a guilty verdict? not to mention, bruce's legal team would be pretty top-notch.

Batman has hit cops in the past.

Using the New York penal code (which is about as close as you'll probably get to Gotham considering it's supposedly in either New York or New Jersey), that counts as a class C felony.

That comes with a 3-7 year sentence in prison.

Still waiting for his Official BackAlleyBrawler No-Prize

True. Tim has always been exceptional.

However, if you've caught Batman and have him in custody, your single biggest roadblock is gone. You know who he is. You know he's Bruce Wayne.

Digging out more evidence after you know this should be considerably easier.



-np

I think that the Bat Cave might break a few building codes.

I think this is less "Could Batman be jailed" and more "Would Durakken be a good lawyer". I'm still interested in watching it play out.

I'd also point out that on a few occasions higher-up government organizations have implied that they already KNOW who Batman really is, but they choose not to go after him.

Amanda Waller has certainly hinted at this, for example.

These types of organizations, if they REALLY wanted to go after Bats and managed to capture him, there would be no trial. He'd just disappear.

Granted, the way the DC universe works, his buddies in the Justice League would eventually track him down and free him.



-np