Can my boyfriend's wife have me arrested for trespassing even if she does not live there?
Full Question:
I am involved with a man whose wife wants to divorce him. He is living in their house, she has been living with her parents for about five months. She recently told him that because the house is in both their names, if she ever catches me in the house she will have me arrested for trespassing. Can she do that?
04/07/2007 |
Category: Criminal |
State: New Jersey |
#2764
Answer:
The following is a NJ statute:
2C:18-3 Unlicensed entry of structures; defiant trespasser; peering into
dwelling places; defenses.
a. Unlicensed entry of structures. A person commits an offense if,
knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or
surreptitiously remains in any research facility, structure, or
separately secured or occupied portion thereof. An offense under this
subsection is a crime of the fourth degree if it is committed in a school
or on school property. The offense is a crime of the fourth degree if it
is committed in a dwelling. An offense under this section is a crime of
the fourth degree if it is committed in a research facility, power
generation facility, waste treatment facility, public sewage facility,
water treatment facility, public water facility, nuclear electric
generating plant or any facility which stores, generates or handles any
hazardous chemical or chemical compounds. Otherwise it is a disorderly
persons offense.
b. Defiant trespasser. A person commits a petty disorderly persons
offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he
enters or remains in any place as to which notice against trespass is
given by:
(1) Actual communication to the actor; or
(2) Posting in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to
come to the attention of intruders; or
(3) Fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to exclude
intruders.
c. Peering into windows or other openings of dwelling places. A person
commits a crime of the fourth degree if, knowing that he is not licensed
or privileged to do so, he peers into a window or other opening of a
dwelling or other structure adapted for overnight accommodation for the
purpose of invading the privacy of another person and under circumstances
in which a reasonable person in the dwelling or other structure would not
expect to be observed.
d. Defenses. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
this section that:
(1) A structure involved in an offense under subsection a. was
abandoned;
(2) The structure was at the time open to members of the public and the
actor complied with all lawful conditions imposed on access to or
remaining in the structure; or
(3) The actor reasonably believed that the owner of the structure, or
other person empowered to license access thereto, would have licensed him
to enter or remain, or, in the case of subsection c. of this section, to
peer.