As finals wrap up and the holidays begin in earnest, many of us will be hitting the road to visit friends and family. Even if your plans include copious layovers and thousands of miles, there’s one man covering more ground and making the most stops along the way: Santa Claus.
A symbol of holiday cheer and rosy cheeked joy, Santa is in fact a walking and talking fact pattern of torts, misdemeanors and felonies. Below are some examples of his alleged crimes and some resources for further research.
The OUPblog, written by the Oxford University Press, begins our examination with compelling evidence of violation of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000 with Santa’s flagrant engagement in surveillance of all the children of the world (he sees you when you’re sleeping?). Although this is a law from the United Kingdom, one could surmise Santa is violating similar laws across the world, an interesting example of comparative analysis.
Law Professor Peter Vaughan, compiled a list of Santa’s 12 days of crimes, notable mentions include: product liability, animal welfare, trademark infringement, trespass, and eight complaints to the information commissioner for breach of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
Meanwhile, attorney Robert Corbett questions whether Santa is an Independent Contractor or an Employee, and whether he can be sued for discrimination if gifts aren’t distributed equally.
The Foundation for Economic Education created their own list of infractions, including violation of the IRS Gift Tax and the civil and criminal penalties of flying without a license.
This blog post from In Custodia Legis, written by the Law Librarians of Congress, discusses local, federal and foreign regulations regarding the mail, citizenship and the emissions of Santa and his foreign livestock.
Honorable mentions include this collection of Santa maps, including Santa’s Got a Gun : A case study of cultural stereotypes embedded in a map, from the Colorado School of Mines; The Twelve Laws of Santa Claus, a book of guidelines to help bring Christmas Spirit to the world all year long from the iconic and benevolent sage himself; this fantasy/romance novel State v. Claus: A Tale of Lawyers, Reindeer, Love, and Magic; and this short film The Real Story of Santa Claus, which examines the treatment of Santa over the years, including exploitation by the Nazis.
Whether you welcome Santa into your home with open arms, or reject him as trespasser abusing his army of elves, have a great winter break and a happy New Year!
Submitted by Manriquez,Elizabeth on December 18, 2025
This article appears in the categories: Law Library
