Does householder have authority to confiscate guest&#39;s legal property?
<p>I visited a teetotaler relative, I'm completely aware of his personal views and stayed over in his house. A local store stocked exotic alcoholic beverages for a reasonable price and I purchased some bottles (I'm over legal drinking age). Some days later I got caught and all alcohol I had with me was taken away without my knowledge, I found empty liquor store bag later. Compensation of any kind was refused and I haven't got my belongings back. Drinks are potentially poured down the drain and it's possible he benefited financially from the crime (bottle deposit is 0,10€ for empty glass bottles and 0,15€ for cans) We have talked about the event, the relative believes he has "full rights" to do so.<br>
<strong>Does the owner of the house have authority to govern what (legal) items I'm allowed to carry with me</strong>?</p>

<p>There is no legal theory of which I'm aware which would allow a host to confiscate a guest's property without consent and consideration. Even if the host intends to return the property and both parties know this, the host still can't keep it even temporarily after the owner demands its return. File a police report, press charges and sue for damages.</p>

<p>Take Indiana as a perhaps representative example of what you could expect in the US. See <a href="http://www.myindianadefenselawyer.com/criminal-charges/theft-shoplifting/" rel="nofollow">http://www.myindianadefenselawyer.com/criminal-charges/theft-shoplifting/</a> . Theft is knowingly depriving a person of their property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it. Conversion is knowingly depriving a person of their property without an intent to permanently deprive them of it. Both are crimes, though the former is a felony and the latter is a misdemeanor.</p>

theft alcohol