Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Wyoming

Re: No trespassing notice

You can exclude people from your private property either through the criminal or civil law systems.

Before a person can be found guilty of criminal trespass, you have to give the person notice that they are not to trespass. This should be done (1) by posting no trespassing signs at visible points around your property and (2) for a particular individual, by giving written notice to the person that they are not to trespass. The written notice can be served in any way. To be able to prove the notice was served, I suggest certified mail, return receipt requested. After the property has been posted and the person served with the written notice, you can then ask the sherriff to cite the person for criminal trespass if they continue to enter onto your property. This may be easier said than done for several reasons. (1) Officers often want to catch a person trespassing before they will cite them (although they may warn them). Having impartial witnesses or other evidence, such as videotape, may be helpful. (2) Prosecutors often view trespass as a "civil matter" in which they do not want to get involved. This traditionally arises where the trespasser claims some right, legitimate or not, to be on your property. If this happens, the prosecutor is likely to want you to establish your right to exclude the person civilly (via court) before he prosecutes.

This brings me to the other means of preventing access, suing the trespasser and asking the court to enjoin them from entering onto your property again. As a practical matter, you should still serve written notice before bringing this action.