Legal frameworks treat artificial intelligence systems as tools rather than legal persons, driving the 94.5% market-implied odds for no criminal charge before 2027. Courts, including a Ninth Circuit ruling, have explicitly described AI models as instruments without independent agency, while multiple states have enacted statutes barring AI personhood. Recent enforcement actions target developers and operators for negligence or misuse, as seen in ongoing probes of OpenAI and Character.AI, rather than the models themselves. Proposed legislation like the AI Agent Accountability Act focuses liability on executives and companies. Although autonomous agent incidents have prompted calls for reform, granting AI criminal standing would require unprecedented statutory changes unlikely in the remaining months of 2026.