Trespassing
Trespassing means entering or remaining on someone else’s property without permission or after being forbidden to do so, either verbally, by posted “No Trespassing” signs, or by law enforcement.
The comments that follow all discuss Massachusetts law, as it is applied in Massachusetts courts. These comments do not apply to criminal cases in federal courts, or to cases in any state other than Massachusetts. None of these general comments are legal advice for a specific situation. Any time you are charged with a crime, or have questions as to what the law says, the best course of action is to talk to a lawyer about your particular circumstances.
What do they have to prove in order to convict you of trespassing?
Two things: 1) the defendant entered or remained on someone else’s property; and 2) the owner prohibited the defendant from being there, either directly or by means of a posted “No Trespassing” notice.
What if you didn’t see the “No Trespassing” sign?
If the defense is that the defendant did not see a posted notice, the jury will have to decide, based on all the evidence, if they believe that. The jury might consider evidence such as how large the notice was, where the notice was posted, and whether there was more than one posted notice.
Nobody told me I couldn’t be there!
That argument might be most helpful if the evidence showed that the place where you are alleged to have trespassed appeared to be open to the public (for example, an open green space, or a parking lot). Obviously, people are not free to go anywhere they want to, any time they want to. If you have any reason to think you are on private property, the safest course is to get back on the sidewalk.
Is it trespassing if you just cut across someone’s property?
The law does not define trespassing by how long the defendant remained on the property, or how far the defendant went within the property line. Technically, even one step onto someone else’s property could lead to a trespassing charge.
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