Trespassing is the offense of unlawfully entering or remaining on land or in a property without the consent of the person entitled to control it, a foundational property offense that requires no theft, damage or further criminal intent beyond the unauthorized presence itself, distinguishing it from burglary, which additionally requires an intent to commit a further crime once inside. Most jurisdictions require that the offender knew or should have known the entry was unauthorized, commonly established through posted notice, a fence or enclosure, or a direct order to leave that the person then disregards, and many statutes treat trespass as a minor offense unless it is repeated, occurs on a specially protected category of property, or is accompanied by aggravating conduct. Civil trespass, a property owner's separate right to sue for unauthorized entry regardless of whether any criminal charge is brought, exists alongside the criminal offense in most common-law systems, so a single unauthorized entry can give rise to both. Trespassing is also the underlying offense in many organized protest and direct-action cases, where the same statute is applied to demonstrators occupying private or restricted property, making it one of the more frequently litigated intersections between property law and free-expression law.
Facts
Classification CodeSourced to the subject's own accountNew York grades criminal trespass into three separate statutory degrees rather than one generic offense: first degree trespass, the most serious, requires trespassing with a gun or deadly weapon and is the only one of the three classified as a felony; second degree covers trespassing into an occupied home or residence; and third degree covers trespassing into a building or onto someone else's property generally. 2 Typical PenaltySourced to the subject's own accountUnder New York's three-tier structure, a first degree criminal trespass conviction, a class D non-violent felony, carries no mandatory minimum but up to roughly two and one-third to seven years in prison; second degree, a class A misdemeanor, carries up to one year in jail; and third degree, a class B misdemeanor, carries up to ninety days in jail or a fine. 2 Elements of OffenseTrespass is committed by knowingly entering another owner's property or land without permission, in a way that encroaches on the owner's privacy or property interests; no taking, damage or further criminal intent beyond the unauthorized presence itself is required. 1 Notable ExampleA landmark trespass case is State v. Shack, decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1971, in which a farm owner had two workers for a federally funded legal aid organization charged with trespass for entering his property to meet privately with migrant farmworkers housed there; the court held that the owner's property rights did not extend to barring access to governmental and charitable services available to the workers, establishing that property rights are not absolute. 3 Jurisdiction VariationJurisdictions grade criminal trespass differently: New York assigns each of three numbered degrees its own fixed felony or misdemeanor classification, while Arizona instead folds several distinct kinds of unlawful entry into a single first degree trespass statute whose classification then varies by subsection, from a class 5 felony for trespassing on a critical public service facility down to a class 1 misdemeanor for entering a fenced residential yard. 4 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Cornell LII Wex: Trespass
Main definition paragraph
Trespass is knowingly entering another owners' property or land without permission, which encroaches on the owners' privacy or property interests.
Wex trespass entry, opening definition
Trespass is knowingly entering another owners’ property or land without permission, which encroaches on the owners’ privacy or property interests.
View the Source2. New York Criminal Trespass Laws (FindLaw)
FindLawNew York Criminal Trespass Laws at a Glance section
criminal trespass in the first degree, the most serious trespassing offense, involves trespassing with a gun or deadly weapon. It is the only New York criminal trespass law that constitutes a felony. Criminal trespass in the second degree involves trespassing into a home or a residence without permission; third degree criminal trespass involves trespassing into a building or onto someone else’s property.
Penalties and Sentencing section
Criminal trespass in the first degree: This is a class D non-violent felony. First time offenders: No minimum sentence, but up to two and one-third to seven years prison sentence.
View the Source 3. State v. Shack, 58 N.J. 297 (1971) (Justia)
JustiaOpinion text, property rights discussionQuote, Opinion text, property rights discussion
A man's right in his real property of course is not absolute.
4. Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-1504, Criminal Trespass in the First Degree (Arizona State Legislature)
Arizona State Legislature13-1504 subsection B, classification clauseQuote, 13-1504 subsection B, classification clause
Criminal trespass in the first degree under subsection A, paragraph 6 of this section is a class 5 felony. Criminal trespass in the first degree under subsection A, paragraph 1 or 5 of this section is a class 6 felony. Criminal trespass in the first degree under subsection A, paragraph 2, 3 or 4 of this section is a class 1 misdemeanor.
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