Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Trespassing?

A friend and i were invited to this house. We were told this guy's grandmother had been been sent to a nursing home and was going to let them rent this house (he is under 18). We entered without any knowlegde that we could get in trouble, because we were told we could be there. We were there for no more than 10 mintues, and we did not touch anything. The boy whose grandmother owned the house had left and his Mother had come over and told us we could not be there. she is attempting to press charges. My question is: Are we looking at a trespassing charges here? because i thought in order for it to be trespassing we had to go in there knowing we couldnt be there. And if i am in trouble, how much trouble could i get into for this?


Asked on 6/21/08, 11:55 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Bulmer II Law Offices of William K. Bulmer II

Re: Trespassing?

Trespass, like many crimes, requires the element of intent to be proven. Your fact scenerio seems to be lacking criminal intent on your part. You were on property you believed you had a legal right to be on. After finding out you no longer had such right, I presume you left the property. Therefore, it would be tough for the State to prove you trespassed upon someone's property.

The following is a portion of the trespass statute:

609.605:

(b) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person intentionally:

(3) trespasses on the premises of another and, without claim of right, refuses to depart from

the premises on demand of the lawful possessor;

You can review the entire statute by going to my resource page on my website at:

www.bulmerlaw.com

The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor offense is 90 days in jail and/or $1000 fine. If you are charged with trespass, you are not looking at 90 days in jail, but rather more like a maximum of 30 days in jail, depending on the county and prosecutor.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me for a free consultation.

Thank You.

Will Bulmer II

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Answered on 6/21/08, 6:49 pm


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