[Vision2020] Wilson's complaint (was: Property tax cut?)

[Mark Solomon]

Dan,

I'll take a crack at it, but I don't know if there are laws specific 
to trespass within city limits. In general, the "warning" has to be 
accomplished by posting your property every 100 yds minimum with 
signs clearly saying "no trespassing or by placing an orange blaze at 
least one square foot in size at the same spacing. Absent that 
warning, if you believe there are specific people who are trespassing 
and whom you wish to keep off your property, you can register and 
order with the county (sheriff, I believe but it could be the court) 
and have it served on the person or persons saying that their 
presence on your property is trespassing.

The problem with any of this is enforcement. Trespass is usually 
treated as a civil issue and unless you can prove economic damages it 
is highly unlikely that the court will give you any satisfaction. 
Simple physical presence won't win you a civil case. The best you can 
hope for is a police escort of the trespasser off your property but 
that is rare given the demands on our police officers and the 
nature/severity of trespass as a crime.

The states trespass laws are very old, dating back to early days as a 
state, and have not kept pace with modern day problems.

In the instance referred to, listing names on a complaint is not the 
same as serving a legal notice of no trespassing.

At 9:10 AM -0700 7/25/06, Dan Carscallen wrote:
>Vizzz peeps,
>
>Regarding the four people listed on Wilson's complaint:
>
>While working with the Friends of Moscow Mountain a couple years back, I
>recall some discussion about Idaho's trespassing laws.  Hopefully Mark
>Solomon and Wayne Fox are perusing this thread along with others,
>because they can back up (or at least clarify) what we discovered and
>what I'm trying to explain.
>
>In Idaho, in order to convict someone of "trespassing", you must first
>warn said person off your property, then file a complaint with the
>proper law enforcement authorities.  Then you must have something in
>writing stating that said person is not allowed on your property.  By
>listing the names on his complaint, Wilson has assured that those people
>will be cited for trespassing, rather than just warned off.
>
>Mind you, I have a mere layman's understanding of this process.  Mark
>can speak to it MUCH better, having had some recent experience with it.
>
>DC