Trespass

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In law, trespass can be:

1. the criminal act of going into somebody else's land or property without permission of the owner or lessee;
2. a civil law tort that may be a valid cause of action to seek judicial relief and possibly damages through a lawsuit - see trespass to land.

In some jurisdictions trespassing is a petty offense or misdemeanor covered by a criminal code. In other jurisdictions, it is not considered a crime or penal in nature, property is protected from trespass under civil law and privacy acts. In England and Wales, despite the prevalence of notices asserting that "trespassers will be prosecuted", unless the trespass is aggravated in some way, it will only be a civil wrong.

[edit] Trespass law

Although criminal and civil trespass laws vary from each jurisdiction, most have the following facets in common:

• Property owners and their agents (for example, security guards) may only use reasonable force to protect their property. For example, setting booby traps on a property to hurt trespassers or shooting at trespassers are usually strictly forbidden except in extreme circumstances.
• Not all persons seeking access to property are trespassers. The law recognizes the rights of persons given express permission to be on the property ("invitees") and persons who have a legal right to be on the property ("licensees") not to be treated as trespassers; for example, a meter reader on the property to read the meter. A police officer or process server seeking to execute a warrant is a licensee. Someone such as a door-to-door salesman or missionary (a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon for example), would be a solicitor and not afforded the invitee exclusion to enter the private portion of the premises, and therefore be a trespasser. In a more recent case, Jehovah's Witnesses refused to get government permits to solicit door-to-door in Stratton, Ohio. In 2002, the case was heard in the U.S. Supreme Court (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Village of Stratton — 536 U.S. 150 (2002)). The Court ruled in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses, holding that making it a misdemeanor to engage in door-to-door advocacy without first registering with the mayor and receiving a permit violate the first Amendment as it applies to religious proselytizing, anonymous political speech, and the distribution of handbills.

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• Most jurisdictions do not allow "self-help" to remove trespassers. The usual procedure is to ask the trespassing person to leave, then to call law enforcement officials if they do not. As long as the trespasser is not posing an immediate threat, they cannot be removed by force. It is usually illegal to arrest a trespasser and hold them on the property until law enforcement arrives as this defeats the purpose of allowing them to cure the trespass by leaving. A large exception to this rule are railroads in the United States and Canada, who employ their own police forces to enforce state or provincial trespassing laws. Railroad police have the ability to independently arrest and prosecute trespassers without the approval or assistance of local law enforcement. Further, in many jurisdictions, trespassing on railroad tracks is considered a very severe offense with fines that may even surpass drunk driving and marijuana possession.

• Most, though not all, jurisdictions allow "Benevolent Trespassing" for extreme situations. For example, if you have a car accident and somebody is injured, you may legally enter/use the property to secure help. The law assumes people will make a reasonable effort to notify property owners if possible.
• Similarly "Good Samaritan" laws take precedent over property laws where applicable. Civilians are afforded certain protection in emergencies - people cannot generally sue their would-be rescuers for breaking ribs attempting CPR, or damaging property while helping a person in need. Obviously, professionals (EMT, Doctors, etc) are held to a higher standard, even when they're not "on the clock."
• Marking property as private property can be done in a variety of ways. The most obvious way is to put up a sign saying "No Trespassing" or "Private Property". However, a continuous fence has the same effect in most places. Many jurisdictions allow the use of markers when fencing would be impractical or expensive. For example, Ontario, Canada allows the use of red paint on landmarks such as trees to mark the boundaries of private property.
• Property owners may allow some trespasses while excluding others. For example a sign saying just "No Hunting" could conceivably allow hiking, snowmobiling, or bird-watching, but would give notice to hunters that they would be trespassing if they entered onto the property.
• Trespass is not limited to human beings. For example, the owner of cattle or dogs may be responsible for an animal's trespass in some jurisdictions.

[edit] Other legal uses

• Assault and battery are trespasses to the person and actionable in tort as such.
• The unlawful interference with the goods of another is a trespass against his goods, and actionable in tort, usually as conversion or detinue.
• Actions for breach of contract was developed by the common law courts out of trespass and came to be called trespass upon the case.

[edit] Wider uses

The term 'trespass' is also used for a transgression in general, also in the traditional version of the Lord's Prayer. 'Trespass' is in fact a shorter English version of the Latin transgressio.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Prevention

There are many methods land owners use to prevent trespassing, usually depending on the terrain, risk, importance (personal, cultural or economic) and size of the property.

Some of the most common are also the most basic - barbed wire, warning signs and fencing.

[edit] See also

• Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (UK)
• Forced entry
• Right of public access to the wilderness (Nordic countries and Scotland)
• Right-of-way
• Rights of way in the United Kingdom
• Property is theft!
• Freedom to roam