Lawyer and YouTuber Devin Stone, known online as Legal Eagle, has chimed in on the drama surrounding Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) after coming under fire for speeding and then sharing footage of it.
Tech YouTuber MKBHD has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons of late. A November 11 YouTube upload exposed the influencer driving 96mph in a 35mph zone, even flying past a “careful, children” sign.
Upon realizing this moment was left in the edit, he trimmed it out and then addressed the crime on social media. “All I can do is apologize and promise never to do anything close to that stupid again,” he said. “That’s a terrible example to set and I’m sorry for it.”
Since then, it’s been back to business as usual with the YouTuber continuing to share new content, despite the criticism still ongoing. However, given the clip exists forever on the internet, it’s raised questions as to whether he can still be slapped with consequences after the fact.
Fellow YouTuber and experienced lawyer Devin Stone took to his own channel, Legal Eagle, to clarify how the law may get involved. “Yes,” he said off the bat, the viral footage can indeed “be used against [MKBHD] in a court of law.”
MKBHD was doing 96mph in 35mph "careful children" zone, video wasn't even about cars he was just flexing. I hate cars. pic.twitter.com/zvQsBeNIvW
— 1010011010 (@LeszczynskiEd) November 12, 2024
As Brownlee resides in New Jersey, it’s a bit of a grey area as to what can be deemed ‘reckless driving,’ Stone outlined. Rather than any blanket rules, “each case is viewed independently to determine what the driver’s mindset and actions were,” he explained.
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Under one possible definition, reckless acts behind the wheel can be “punished by imprisonment in the county or municipal jail for up to 60 days,” at least, that’s if it’s a first offense. If not, the punishment can be upped to three months of jail time along with some fines.
Stone then reaffirmed that indeed, the footage of MKBHD speeding can be used as evidence. So should local authorities stumble upon the clip and wish to pursue charges, the clip is right there to hold the YouTuber accountable.
This is exactly what happened to fellow YouTuber Trevor Jacob back in 2022. After intentionally crashing a plane to go viral on the platform, he was punished under law. Not only did Jacob have his pilot certificate revoked, but he was also sentenced to six months in prison.
For now, it’s a matter of waiting and seeing if New Jersey authorities look to pursue legal action. Though they have every right to, regardless of how MKBHD may have edited the footage or confessed to the actions.