Comment Trespassing (Score 1) 587
I had to deal with this a few months back...
I was driving my car around the neighborhood, right after working on it. It started acting up so i parked it at a near by Apartment complex, the car wouldn't have made it home. I walked back home to get some radiator fluid. The radiator was leaking so i parked the car so it wouldn't over heat. I showed up back to the apartment complex to check out my car about 20 min later, and noticed that there was a guy saying he was the manager and was going to have me arrested for trespassing. I was told by him to wait hear for the police so i could be arrested.
I know that wasn't going to happen so i willfully waited for the police as the 'manager' asked. Mean time the manager was going off on my how i was some stupid kid dealing drugs in his 'clean' apartments.
Once the cops got there they asked the manager what was going on and he told the police that i was the worst kid in the neighborhood an that i need to be arrested!! along with trespassing of course. I ended up not being wanted by anything and after the cops rummaged through my car without my permission. They "determand" that i was not a threat and that i should just get a ticket insted.
Trespassing in the second degree. $190 fine.
I got a letter from the DA asking if i wanted to just pay the fine or if i wanted to take it to court. If i wanted to just pay the fine i needed to do so by this date or i would have to go to court about it on this date. I took the thing to court and not before i looked up the laws on the matter at the library.
In the state i live in, the law states that "In order to be trespassing on private property i need to first be on the property then asked to leave, then refuse to leave."
Well since i was "asked" to stay and wait for the police to show up i did just that, and look at where it got me, i had to go to court. If i had of left when i was asked to then this wouldn't of happened. But since the cycle of the term 'trespassing wasn't understood by the manager or the cops i got the ass end of the deal and had to go to court.
When i went to court the judge asked for the side of the story from one of the three police officers who was there. The cop didn't really say much other than that i was there and there was an angry manager.
Then the judge asked my side of the story. All i did was tell him that i was never asked to leave so therefore i didn't trespass. I had the legal document stating this that i got earlier at the library. The judge didn't even know what trespassing was. So he said dismissed and that i will me mailed a verdict... Not guilty.
The point of all this is--
No matter what the law states about open wireless in this country, if the right people don't know whats going on this whole thing legally or not it will go to court. Like the pissed off neighbor. There was dust kicked around in the matter so the police stepped in, and since know one really knows the laws on the matter its going to court. Just like my issue.
What i think that needs to be done is for the kids lawyer, or if he even gets one, needs to figure out where it states in the law about this issue. And if there isn't any Rock solid laws about this. Come up with something that is close to the matter. Like trespassing. the AP never told the kid to leave (im guessing), it asked if there was anyone that wanted to connect and the kid replied yes i want to connect. I know the laws are different from my country and his, but If you compare this to my experience i think his best bet is to let the system work. Its designed to work, so let it. And if he doesn't get the answer he wants, appeal. If thats an option...
I was driving my car around the neighborhood, right after working on it. It started acting up so i parked it at a near by Apartment complex, the car wouldn't have made it home. I walked back home to get some radiator fluid. The radiator was leaking so i parked the car so it wouldn't over heat. I showed up back to the apartment complex to check out my car about 20 min later, and noticed that there was a guy saying he was the manager and was going to have me arrested for trespassing. I was told by him to wait hear for the police so i could be arrested.
I know that wasn't going to happen so i willfully waited for the police as the 'manager' asked. Mean time the manager was going off on my how i was some stupid kid dealing drugs in his 'clean' apartments.
Once the cops got there they asked the manager what was going on and he told the police that i was the worst kid in the neighborhood an that i need to be arrested!! along with trespassing of course. I ended up not being wanted by anything and after the cops rummaged through my car without my permission. They "determand" that i was not a threat and that i should just get a ticket insted.
Trespassing in the second degree. $190 fine.
I got a letter from the DA asking if i wanted to just pay the fine or if i wanted to take it to court. If i wanted to just pay the fine i needed to do so by this date or i would have to go to court about it on this date. I took the thing to court and not before i looked up the laws on the matter at the library.
In the state i live in, the law states that "In order to be trespassing on private property i need to first be on the property then asked to leave, then refuse to leave."
Well since i was "asked" to stay and wait for the police to show up i did just that, and look at where it got me, i had to go to court. If i had of left when i was asked to then this wouldn't of happened. But since the cycle of the term 'trespassing wasn't understood by the manager or the cops i got the ass end of the deal and had to go to court.
When i went to court the judge asked for the side of the story from one of the three police officers who was there. The cop didn't really say much other than that i was there and there was an angry manager.
Then the judge asked my side of the story. All i did was tell him that i was never asked to leave so therefore i didn't trespass. I had the legal document stating this that i got earlier at the library. The judge didn't even know what trespassing was. So he said dismissed and that i will me mailed a verdict... Not guilty.
The point of all this is--
No matter what the law states about open wireless in this country, if the right people don't know whats going on this whole thing legally or not it will go to court. Like the pissed off neighbor. There was dust kicked around in the matter so the police stepped in, and since know one really knows the laws on the matter its going to court. Just like my issue.
What i think that needs to be done is for the kids lawyer, or if he even gets one, needs to figure out where it states in the law about this issue. And if there isn't any Rock solid laws about this. Come up with something that is close to the matter. Like trespassing. the AP never told the kid to leave (im guessing), it asked if there was anyone that wanted to connect and the kid replied yes i want to connect. I know the laws are different from my country and his, but If you compare this to my experience i think his best bet is to let the system work. Its designed to work, so let it. And if he doesn't get the answer he wants, appeal. If thats an option...
