10-15-2003, 01:39 PM
Utah Trespass laws are very confusing! There are two different laws on the books for private lands. There is the Utah Wildlife code, and there is just the Utah code. The Utah Wildlife code states: [font "Arial"][size 2]The Utah Wildlife Code 23-20-14 states that "While taking wildlife or engaging in wildlife related activities, a person may not: (1) without permission of the owner or person in charge, enter upon privately-owned land of any person, firm or corporation., (2) refuse to immediately leave the private land if requested, or (3) obstruct any entrance or exit to private property. In Utah, permission is legally defined within the wildlife code to mean written authorization from the owner or person in charge to enter private land that is properly posted. By law this written authorization must include the signature of the owner or person in charge, the name of the person being given permission, the dates for which permission is granted, and a general description of the property to which the permission is given. Central to those definitions is the phase, "properly-posted." Although Utah law is specific in defining properly-posted, differing interpretations of his phrase by landowners trespassers, conservation officers, county attorneys, and he courts have complicated the issue. Because of these differing interpretations, known trespassers have not been prosecuted or they have managed to win their cases in court. This has contributed to reinforcing some landowners' perceptions that trespass is difficult to prevent.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The second is the Utah code: Trespass may also be charged under the general criminal code, Utah Code Annotated Section 76-6-206, as an infraction rather than a class B misdemeanor. This statute requires the "posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders" or "fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders." A county attorney prosecuting a trespass case may fall back on this statute when there are concerns about whether the land was technically "properly posted" under the wildlife code, and as long as the trespasser should have reasonably recognized that his presence was unwelcome. Although the offense classification is an infraction, the justice courts may still impose substantial fines and order restitution for violations.[/size][/font]
I don't care if the land is posted or not. If a private land owner has a fence up, obviously it is there to either keep people out, or animals in, or both. How do you know which one it is in place for? You ask the land owner, and make sure to get his signature...http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/law/permissioncard.html
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[font "Arial"][size 2]The second is the Utah code: Trespass may also be charged under the general criminal code, Utah Code Annotated Section 76-6-206, as an infraction rather than a class B misdemeanor. This statute requires the "posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders" or "fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders." A county attorney prosecuting a trespass case may fall back on this statute when there are concerns about whether the land was technically "properly posted" under the wildlife code, and as long as the trespasser should have reasonably recognized that his presence was unwelcome. Although the offense classification is an infraction, the justice courts may still impose substantial fines and order restitution for violations.[/size][/font]
I don't care if the land is posted or not. If a private land owner has a fence up, obviously it is there to either keep people out, or animals in, or both. How do you know which one it is in place for? You ask the land owner, and make sure to get his signature...http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/law/permissioncard.html
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