In article ,
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
|
| Going onto someone's land unbidden is trespass. It only becomes a crime
| if damage is done or if the trespass is committed with unlawful intent,
| and is now, I believe, called 'aggravated trespass'.

Sigh. No. Merely entering and not doing damage is not trespass,
and you may even have a right to do so. There are both statutory
and common law rights to enter other people's property, though
collecting balls is not one of them.

Even bigger sigh. No, Nick, you're wrong. "Every inch of the countryside
is owned by someone. It is trespass to go onto someone's land without
authority - which means either their permission or some legal right. But
the public are able to use large parts of the countryside, including
some commons, and all public rights of way and country parks.

[You and the Law. Ch 8.4 (Prof. Michael Furmston T.D., M.A., B.C.L.,
LL.M. & Dr. Vincent Powell-Smith LL.B., LL.M., D.Litt., F.C.I. Arb. -
Hamlyn)]

I am fully aware that the Little Texans among this poxious bunch of
land reivers that claim to be the government of the country have been
trying to revise history and the law, but that is complete nonsense
and always has been. Neither in Anglo-Saxon law nor Norman law do
people own land in the sense of property, but own rights to land.

You are NOT committing trespass if you enter someone's land without
permission if you are trying to contact that person, and have reasonable
grounds to do so. You do NOT have a right to access, and have to leave
if requested, but you cannot be sued for trespass. And there are MANY
other circumstances where you have no RIGHT of entry but have a RIGHT
not to be sued for trespass.

From the OED:

Trespass to land. A wrongful entry upon the lands of another, with
damage (however inconsiderable) to his real property.

In particular, look at the reference to Blackstone (a rather more
authoritative source than yours), which says "and doing some damage
(however inconsiderable) to his property".

Sorry. Trespass just means a wrong against someone, and entering
someone's land without lawful excuse is trespass.

Only in Texas. We haven't YET, QUITE been turned into Little Texas,
and there are those of us who will do our damnedest to stop you Little
Texans from doing it.

And, doing damage can be a criminal offence if it is done deliberately,
depending, I think, on the value of the damage done. Ever heard of
'Criminal Damage'?

Of course. If I had referred to that, I would have said so.

Treapass by itself is actiuonable, but one who sues might expect to be
awarded a minute sum in damages, and it is unlikely that it would be
ordered that their costs be paid by the defendant.

And merely entering someone's land even WITHOUT reason is not actionable.
If you sue, and make NO attempt to claim for damage, you will lose and
have to pay costs. If that were not so, there would be far more
vindictive cases for trespass than there are.

There is no law of Common Trespass in Scotland.

There is an equivalent - at least to the law in England, though not
to what you claim is the law.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.