Popo, chime in. Can this be trespassing and who could/would prosecute?

[Frank]

A piece of land is owned by an ISD and will one day be the site of a new school, but for now it is just pasture. No fence, no signs telling of no trespassing. A person decides to walk around on it and maybe pick some wild flowers from it.

Enter the asshole lawyer who lives nearby who feels it is his duty to ream out anyone who sets foot on it and tells them they are trespassing and proceeds to berate them and threaten them with criminal trespass. The only reason he saw the person at all was because he so happen to be driving down the road. Other wise this land is completely hidden from view from his home. He follows the trespasser home and takes down their address.

If you were a cop and got a call like this and the citizen was obviously not doing any harm, what can or would a cop do? This citizen has zero history of anything more than a ticket for no front plate 10 years ago.

[Osiris]

There has to be signs posted, or on view from the property owner to request a CT. If there were no signs posted anywhere and I got the call, all I would do is tell both parties to knock it off.

[YALE]

Why wouldn't some empty land a government entity owns be public property?

[Whiteboy]

A piece of land is owned by an ISD and will one day be the site of a new school, but for now it is just pasture. No fence, no signs telling of no trespassing. A person decides to walk around on it and maybe pick some wild flowers from it.

Enter the asshole lawyer who lives nearby who feels it is his duty to ream out anyone who sets foot on it and tells them they are trespassing and proceeds to berate them and threaten them with criminal trespass. The only reason he saw the person at all was because he so happen to be driving down the road. Other wise this land is completely hidden from view from his home. He follows the trespasser home and takes down their address.

If you were a cop and got a call like this and the citizen was obviously not doing any harm, what can or would a cop do? This citizen has zero history of anything more than a ticket for no front plate 10 years ago.

That dude would have a bad day.

[jewozzy]

would have told the lawyer thanks for calling but that he should know no crime has taken place...

[Frank]

Why wouldn't some empty land a government entity owns be public property?

Well, I was trying to figure that out too. I guess since it is paid with tax dollars I was thinking it would be public, but thinking on that I guess that's silly. What actually constitutes "public" property?

[GE]

There has to be signs posted, or on view from the property owner to request a CT. If there were no signs posted anywhere and I got the call, all I would do is tell both parties to knock it off.

But if the lawyer, with the legal authority to act on behalf of the landowner, tells the trespasser not to come back on the land (in front of LE), and the person does it again, you have an arrestable offense, no?

[Denny]

But if the lawyer, with the legal authority to act on behalf of the landowner, tells the trespasser not to come back on the land (in front of LE), and the person does it again, you have an arrestable offense, no?

Correct. Usually, a trespass warning is issued for record by the officer in attendance, but your ass already knew that.

[Osiris]

But if the lawyer, with the legal authority to act on behalf of the landowner, tells the trespasser not to come back on the land (in front of LE), and the person does it again, you have an arrestable offense, no?

Yes, what we dont know is whether or not the lawyer has that authority. And what Denny said^