What Type of Court Would Each Stranger Things Character Be In?

The characters in Stranger Things went through a lot during the series. What type of court would they end up in?

As the final episode of Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things” has aired, the show has been literally all I can think about right now. Stranger Things is one of my favorite shows and I have been non-stop thinking about the series. So, naturally, as I was thinking of post ideas, I tried to think of a way to incorporate this fixation I have with the legal discussions I write about. I thought it would be fun to assign a type of court/court case to the majority of the Stranger Things characters as a joke based on what has happened in the series. This is your formal warning now that there may be spoilers for the entire show in this post! Enjoy!

Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper - Marriage Court: For those who are unaware, many district courts in the United States hold “marriage court”. It’s a simple ceremony performed by the Judge of the courthouse to provide an official union of two individuals so they obtain a marriage certificate/license. If you have watched the series, I think it’s pretty obvious why Joyce and Hopper would be in this type of court. Over the course of the show, Joyce and Hopper got very close and formed a romantic relationship, feud by the shared experiences they had to endure. Especially at the end of season 5, their relationship is shown as very serious as Hopper proposes to Joyce at the famous “Enzos” restaurant. I think, due to what they both have been through, they wouldn’t necessarily have a huge ceremony, so they would just get married at their local courthouse! 

Steve Harrington - Family Court: This was the character that gave me the idea for this post! Family court, in this case, is a specialized court that handles legal cases involving family matters such as child custody or adoption. Even if Steve does not have any children in the series officially, I think it would be a really funny idea that he would try to get custody of or adopt some of the kids in the series, like Dustin or Max, as a joke since he is known as the “babysitter” of the show. I just also see it in his character to somehow end up in family court.

Nancy Wheeler - Federal Crime Court (Insurrection): Nancy, my twin. We all have seen how Nancy has welded weapons against the monsters of the Upside Down, but she has now also welded them against Government Officials. Insurrection is a federal crime where an individual encourages or assists in a rebellion against the authority of the United States, especially if the use of weapons is present. In season 5, Nancy shot at federal soldiers in the base near the opening to the upside down. Even though she didn’t kill any of them, she could still be charged with a federal crime for doing so and being a part of the plan of going to the Upside Down, which was federally restricted. 

Karen and Ted Wheeler - Family Court (Divorce): Family court also handles divorce cases, since it involves family-related matters. Although it is very unlikely that these two will get divorced or go through this type of court in the show, I think it’s funny to picture since these two are known to argue a lot throughout the show. 

El - Federal Court (Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution): Eleven has gotten into a lot of trouble with the federal government, that we have seen. The crime of Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution makes it illegal to travel within or out of a country to avoid prosecution for a crime, which in this case would be Eleven leaving Hawkins Lab. We have seen many government officials attempting to capture Eleven so we know she is someone they are trying to get. So, realistically, this would probably be a crime she would be tried for since she fled a government-sponsored facility without approval to do so. 

Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin - Federal Court (Harboring a Fugitive): Harboring a Fugitive refers to when an individual hides or provides shelter for a person whom it is known that they are fleeing federal authority. This crime kind of ties into the crime I assigned Eleven. I see this being a crime for the four of them because, since season 1, they have been attempting to hide Eleven from government officials, and they have known that these officials are looking for her. Although it was very unrealistic that the characters would be charged with this crime, I think it’s just fitting since they have been hiding eleven for a while. 

Max Mayfield - Civil Court (Jaywalking): Jaywalking is the crime of crossing a street or walking in a road that violates traffic laws, such as not following crosswalks. I don’t see Max ever committing a super serious crime that could land her in Federal or State level courts, I just see her doing something minimal that she believes should not be a crime, and I think jaywalking would be one of those things. Jaywalking, in most cases, is considered a misdemeanor or a minor infraction, so a ticket or fine is what an individual would have to pay for the crime. 

Jonathan Byers - Bankruptcy Court: If you saw the end of the series, you would know that Jonathan is working on publishing a movie. Just as a joke, I think it would be funny that the movie would fail at first and he would end up in Bankruptcy over it. Bankruptcy is a specialized federal court that handles legal cases for individuals, businesses, and other organizations that cannot pay their own debts. Oftentimes, these courts help relieve individuals of their debts and then help those who are owed the debt receive repayment. Again, this is all jokes! I think Jonathan's movie would probably do really well if we got to see more of everyone’s lives in the epilogue. 

Robin Buckley - Federal Court (Public Disclosure of Private Facts): Robin, in season 5, was spreading information about the government’s plans to go to the Upside Down through the radio. Although she used discreet code the group came up with to spread the information, if the government were to find out, Robin would have been seriously charged on a federal level. The crime of Public Disclosure of Private Facts is the crime of revealing highly important private information that is not of immediate concern to the public, leading to distress. Even though one could argue that information about the monsters and danger of the upside down is an immediate concern of the public, the government was technically “handling it” and they deemed it wasn’t public concern. So, Robin could have been federally charged for spreading the information. 

These are all just for fun, if you believe a character would never be charged for a crime or could have been charged for a different one, that’s totally up to you! Analyzing what characters do in a film can help us understand legally and realistically what could happen in real life. Obviously, the characters in Stranger Things would have never been charged for their actions, since it would hurt the story, but we can take what they did and apply it to our lives and how the outcomes could be different. I hope you enjoyed it! 

***I do not own the rights to this photo! All credit goes to charlesdeluvio through Unsplash!