If your citation or complaint lists Penal Code section 647(e), the question is whether you lodged in the particular building, structure, vehicle, or place alleged without permission from someone the statute recognizes as authorized to give it. The place may be public or private. Being unhoused, being in a public place, or briefly occupying a spot does not by itself answer those questions. Start with what the officer says you did, where, and who supposedly controlled that place.
Match the accusation to the statute
Section 647(e) uses the word lodges but gives no fixed number of minutes, required type of bedding, or rule that every act of sleeping is lodging. Nor does its text say an officer must first issue a warning. The conduct and permission evidence matter more than a shorthand label such as “camping” or “trespassing.” (Penal Code § 647(e))
| Check in your case | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Exact charged subsection and location | A general reference to “PC 647” does not identify the act alleged. The charge should be tested against the specific building, vehicle, park area, sidewalk, or other place officers identified. |
| What you actually did | A description of setting up to stay, using a vehicle or shelter as accommodation, sleeping, sitting, or simply passing through may support different factual arguments. Record the duration and what officers observed; none of these facts alone automatically decides the case. |
| Who controlled that place | The statute names the owner, a person entitled to possession, or a person in control. Identify the person or agency the officer relied on and the basis for that person’s authority. |
| What permission existed | A permit, lease, invitation, posted rule, message, or conversation may matter. Check its time, location, scope, and whether the person giving or withdrawing it had authority. |
The prosecution still has to establish the charged conduct and lack of the statutory permission. An officer’s description and a property’s public or private status are facts to investigate; neither substitutes for matching the actual evidence to section 647(e).
Public property, shelter availability, and permission
Public ownership does not remove a place from section 647(e): the statute expressly covers a public or private place. Public access for ordinary use also does not settle whether someone had permission to lodge there. The relevant inquiry is what the authorized person or governing rule permitted at that place and time. Likewise, an invitation to be in one part of a property may not answer an allegation about lodging somewhere else. (Penal Code § 647(e))
The U.S. Supreme Court’s City of Grants Pass v. Johnson decision rejected a categorical Eighth Amendment bar to enforcing generally applicable public-camping laws against people without available shelter. It did not decide whether your conduct was “lodging” under California section 647(e), who could grant permission at your location, or whether the evidence supports your charge. A lack of shelter is important context to discuss with counsel, but it is not an automatic dismissal rule under that decision.
Penalty and records to bring to counsel
Section 647(e) is a misdemeanor. Unless another law sets a different punishment, Penal Code section 19 sets a maximum of six months in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. A citation alone does not show what sentence, if any, a court would impose.
Keep the citation or complaint, any notice or order about the place, and records of permission such as a permit, lease, message, or relevant posted rule. Write down the exact location, timing, what you were doing, who spoke with you, and any witnesses. Counsel can assess available video, photographs, incident reports, and the claimed authority of the person said to control the place. Bring any court date or stay-away order too; do not assume the lodging question excuses compliance with another order.
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review a California section 647(e) accusation against the actual location, conduct, and permission evidence. Call (800) 755-5174.