Trespass charges in California: identify the Penal Code subsection

A trespass accusation turns on the place, notice or request, permission, and the particular statute charged. Penal Code § 602 lists many different acts; § 601 addresses a distinct credible-threat-and-entry offense. A public-access dispute, a store exclusion, and occupying a building cannot be decided from a generic “no permission” label. Bring the citation, posted-sign photographs, communications, and any property or access records to counsel before accepting a particular account of the event.

What Constitutes Trespassing in California? A Breakdown of PC 602

Penal Code § 602 is a list of specific trespass acts, not one offense requiring the same intent in every case. Subdivision (k) covers entry intending to injure property rights or interfere with a lawful business, together with the actual damage or interference explained in CALCRIM No. 2930; (m) concerns entry and continuing occupation without consent; (o) concerns refusing or failing to leave qualifying property after a proper request. Other subdivisions have their own posting, location, and notice requirements. Identify the charged letter before assessing a defense.

The charged trespass theory may involve different conduct:

  • Selected § 602 theories: Posted or fenced land, a proper request to leave, and damage-related conduct appear in different subdivisions with different facts to prove. The charging paper should identify which one applies.
  • Penal Code § 601: A separate credible threat of serious bodily injury must be followed within 30 days by specified unlawful entry into the threatened person’s residence, adjoining property, or workplace with the additional intent stated in that statute. A prior argument plus entry is not automatically enough.
  • Sections 602(k) and 602(m): Business-interference and continuous-occupation theories have different proof requirements. CALCRIM Nos. 2930–2931 distinguish them; entering and promptly leaving a place is not automatically continuous occupation.

Physical damage or theft is not required for every trespass subdivision, but mere presence without the specific required act also is not sufficient. For example, § 602(o) asks whether an authorized person made a proper request to leave qualifying property, while § 602(m) concerns occupation. A civil property dispute does not itself settle a criminal count. The timeline of permission, notice, conduct, and departure matters.

Penalties for Trespassing in California: From Fines to Felony Time

Many § 602 violations are misdemeanors, with penalties depending on the subdivision and applicable general misdemeanor rules. Penal Code § 601 has its own misdemeanor-or-felony punishment path; the felony label is not automatic from a credible threat allegation. A prior, injury, or property-damage count must be evaluated under its own statute rather than folded into generic trespass.

  • Penal Code § 602: Many covered acts are misdemeanors; an applicable subsection, any exception, and the actual judgment control custody or fine exposure. A one-to-three-year probation term is not automatic.
  • Penal Code § 601: A proven credible-threat-and-entry offense can have misdemeanor or felony punishment under its own section. It is not automatically a felony or a strike, and a two-year term is not a predetermined result.

Property damage above $400 does not automatically transform a § 602 misdemeanor into a felony; a separate vandalism count has its own elements and amount rule. Proposition 36 does not convert trespass into a treatment-mandated felony. Employment, housing, licensing, and immigration consequences depend on the actual record and person, not the word “trespass.” A juvenile matter requires its own court and eligibility analysis.

Resolution options depend on the charged trespass act

Probation, misdemeanor judicial diversion, a fine, or community service may be considered if legally available, but none follows automatically from a first-offense label. Get the exact subsection and any separate charge before evaluating a proposed disposition.

  • Probation: The term and any stay-away or restitution conditions require a case-specific order; there is no universal one-to-three-year rule.
  • Misdemeanor judicial diversion: Penal Code § 1001.95 may be an option for an eligible misdemeanor, subject to court decision and statutory exclusions; being a first-time defendant alone does not guarantee dismissal.
  • Fine or community service: An available noncustodial term depends on the charged subsection, court order, and any other count.
  • Proposition 36: Its drug-treatment and theft-prior provisions do not create a treatment program for a § 602 trespass charge merely because another issue or prior exists.

Diversion and supervision eligibility cannot be reduced to remorse, no violence, or county reputation. Ask about the proposed count, order terms, record effects, and whether a property owner’s civil demand is separate from the criminal case.

Examples and records in a trespass allegation

Illustration: A hiker crosses a boundary where a sign appears. A § 602 charge depends on the particular land or posting subdivision, sign placement, notice, and conduct. Neither 30 days in jail nor a $500 fine can be predicted from that short example.

Illustration: A former employee returns to a workplace after an argument. Section 601 requires more than the argument and entry: the prosecution must prove a credible serious-injury threat, intent to place the threatened person in reasonable fear for their safety or their immediate family’s safety, a qualifying entry within 30 days, and intent to carry it out. The actual workplace access and communications matter.

A demonstration, a fence-damage allegation, and occupation of vacant land may involve different statutes and constitutional or permission questions. Public protest or housing insecurity does not eliminate the need to prove the specific charged elements. Check the location, access rules, requests, video, and actual charged act instead.

Evidence and defenses for the actual trespass subsection

Counsel can test who controlled the property, what consent or notice existed, the conduct after entry, and whether a separate § 601 threat was actually made. A suppression motion depends on the stop or search facts and a court ruling; no defense category guarantees dismissal.

  • Required act and intent: An accident or lack of knowledge may matter under a particular subsection, but § 602 does not impose one identical specific-intent element on all counts.
  • Permission or access right: Test actual consent, open-business conditions, public access, and whether a lawful request to leave changed permission.
  • Necessity: A true emergency may raise a separate defense when its legal elements are met; ordinary convenience is not enough.
  • Mistake of fact: A documented belief about the boundary or permission may be relevant to the charged subsection and state of mind.
  • Stop or search: A possible unlawful stop or search requires the actual police report, footage, and legal analysis; evidence is not suppressed merely because an arrest is challenged.

Bring the citation, photographs of signs or gates, texts granting or revoking permission, witness contacts, and any video showing when you entered and left. Ask which § 602 letter applies, whether a proper request to leave was made, and whether § 601 is separately alleged. Review Penal Code § 602 and CALCRIM Nos. 2929–2931 with counsel rather than treating a property disagreement as a settled criminal finding.

Is being on someone else’s land always criminal trespass?

No. The prosecution must prove the particular act and circumstances required by the charged § 602 subdivision. Consent, posting, a request to leave, continuous occupation, and the kind of property may matter.

Does a property argument automatically become aggravated trespass?

No. Section 601 requires a credible threat of serious bodily injury and a specified targeted entry within 30 days with the additional intent. An argument or unwanted visit alone does not supply every element.

Does damage over $400 make trespass a felony?

Not by itself. Vandalism has its own Penal Code § 594 amount rule. A separate damage charge requires its own elements and proof; it does not silently change the § 602 count.