Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

I'm a freshman at a public college in upstate NY. One night two other girls and I climbed up on building on campus to see the stars. Stupid, yes. We were arrested for trespassing. There were no signs. Yes, we were not supposed to be up there, but isn't it the conduct system of the school that should be involved, not the police? We didn't know we were trespassing. In addition, the school charged the three of us about $5000 in damages to the building. When I told the woman in charge that that was not possible, she ended our meeting. I went to the Dean, but he did nothing. Should I take legal action against the school? Also, should I get a lawyer for court and plead not guilty under the defense that we did not know we were trespassing? There were absolutely no signs/warnings.


Asked on 6/22/12, 1:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Katz Fink & Katz, PLLC

If you commit a crime on a college campus, it's still a crime and the school can choose to prosecute using the criminal justice system. I am not sure what action you could bring against the school when you are the one who committed the crime and damaged the building. It's a hard sell to convince a judge that you didn't know that you had no business climbing up on a building.

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Answered on 9/05/12, 7:39 pm


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