In tort law, trespassing refers to three areas of liability. There is trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Historically, trespass to the person involves six trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and false imprisonment.
In recent years, there have been changes to trespass to the person, and now it mostly consists of assault, battery, and false imprisonment. There has been a shift in the law, and most jurisdictions follow these regulations. You can research your local state trespass laws and figure out how these are applicable in your county.
Trespass to chattel does not require a showing of damages anymore. The main elements include “intermeddling with or using personal property.” After a recent court case dealing with technology. Different courts have applied the principles of trespass to chattel to resolve cases involving unsolicited bulk e-mail and unauthorized server usage.
Trespass to land is the “wrongful interference with one’s possessor’s rights in real property” and is known as the most common element. Each jurisdiction has its interpretation of what constitutes intentional or unintentional trespassing and how to differentiate between both of them.
The recent changes in the law do not automatically attach liability upon trespassers. Different scenarios describe this situation, and the judges will ultimately determine what constitutes trespassing. Moreover, in some jurisdictions, liability for unintentional intrusions arises only under negligence or highly dangerous activity.
What is Criminal Trespass?
Criminal trespassing has different consequences because it involves serious crimes. The Women’s Law Organization states that a person commits the offense of criminal trespass when they intentionally damage any property of another without the consent of that other person. Further, if they knowingly and maliciously interfere with the possession or use of another person’s property without authorization from that person.
A person who enters the land without permission and knowingly uses their property for any unlawful purpose is considered criminally liable. Other criminal trespassing elements include entering upon someone’s property and unlawfully obtaining their property. This can be a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. Furthermore, this can be destroying the property or stealing the property.
You can look through the local criminal code regarding trespassing laws that constitute a crime. Different aspects of trespassing can attach criminal charges to it. The intention is taken into account as well for criminal trespass cases. Moreover, anyone entering the land must be authorized by the owner to enter and utilize the property as instructed.
Besides unlawfully entering the land or premises, the offender remains on the land without any authorization or permit from the owner. Furthermore, they unlawfully use the property to commit crimes, whether possessing personal belongings or damaging their property.
Additionally, when it comes to minors, they are not lawfully authorized to provide authorization or permission to enter the land on behalf of the minor’s parent or legal guardian. Especially if the parent has not provided permission to enter the land or the premises; this is critical to remember because the minor’s actions can constitute criminal trespassing in certain circumstances, even if it deals with their parent’s property.
The judge will consider each case and determine the criminal trespassing laws in the state. This covers using or causing damage to the parent’s vehicle, boat, or aircraft. A person who commits the offense of criminal trespass will be guilty of a misdemeanor. Minor’s liability will vary depending on the jurisdiction. You can do more research as needed.
Furthermore, a person is guilty of committing criminal trespassing if they intentionally deface, mutilate, or defile any grave marker, monument, or memorial to one or more deceased persons who served in the military service of this state and the United States of America. This includes any privately owned or located on land which is privately owned.
What Are The Trespassing Signs?
It is recommended to use warning signs across your property to prevent any trespassing. It is recommended for businesses to contact law enforcement immediately if they notice a recurring issue with trespassing. Some states use the Authority to Arrest Trespassers form that permits law enforcement to arrest anyone trespassing on your property when it is closed. This can be accomplished without contacting the business’s owner or management. Law enforcement can resolve this issue and provide you with a sense of security for your business.
As stated earlier, trespassing signs must be posted on the property. This is required and the form for the police to act and make necessary arrests. Each jurisdiction may have different regulations regarding this. For trespassing warning signs to be effective, they must have proper legal verbiage. The signs should be placed at all reasonable entrances and every so often throughout the property.
Signs could be mounted on light poles, fences, or buildings. They should be at a visible height but not so low that they can be easily removed or damaged. Therefore, proper signage at all common entrances to the property will be useful.
As stated earlier, we discussed the Authority to Arrest form that allows law enforcement to arrest the trespasser immediately if seen unlawfully entering the premises. If the business is open, the police officer must contact someone to verify that the person is not a customer or otherwise permitted to be on the property. The property owner completes an authority to arrest form, and the local police will handle any situation.
Once the files are completed, they are available for officers to administer at their discretion. The form needs to have the owner’s original signature for verification purposes. This process is effective for crime prevention and allows law enforcement to be involved. Remember that this form must be updated every year or when the information changes.
If you have a business, ensuring your and your customer’s safety is important. If there is suspicious behavior or activity on your property, you need to have a system not to disrupt your business. If someone on your property is causing problems or concerns, how can you legally remove them from your premises? While certain legally defined situations permit physical force to be necessary to remove someone from the property, most people want to avoid this sort of confrontation.
Before a confrontation occurs, the law mandates that a reasonable request to leave be made first. If a person is causing trouble on your property and you, as an owner, have requested them to leave but are not cooperating, that person is committing trespassing. As the owner, you are with your property rights to remove someone from the property for not abiding by the reasonable behavior standard.
When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?
If you have issues with criminal trespassing, you can contact a local criminal defense lawyer near you to assist you with the case. Different scenarios can constitute criminal trespassing, which differs from other types. You can find more information in your local jurisdiction about criminal trespassing.
