Class C Trespassing Violation

I’m a 20 year old that was issued a Class C misdemeanor for trespassing in Texas.

Basically, a friend and I were driving around midmorning (2-3AM) during our college winter break. We passed by his old middle school and decided to walk around and reminisce of old days. We found that one of the doors was unlocked so we went inside. We did not see any clearly marked signs indicating “no trespassing.” We walked around for a while looking through old classroom windows and exploring old hallways. Really, we didn’t do anything else besides walking around. Suddenly two cops burst in and handcuffed us and subsequently took us into custody. Evidently there were cameras or sensors of some sort that alerted them of an intrusion.

The police wanted to issue us a Class B misdemeanor, believing that we were up to something very unlawful. They seemed to have an immediate prejudice against us; seeing that we are college students, they argued that “we were too smart to be up to nothing.” (Not to mention, we’re also minorities.) They called the district attorney who ordered them to instead issue us a Class C misdemeanor for trespassing.

Question is: do you think that we can convince the judge to let us off as not guilty on our court date? There were no clearly marked warning signs and the door we entered through was open/slightly ajar. If there was anything caught on camera, it would only show us walking through hallways looking at stuff. The unfortunately sketchy part is that it was on a weekday midmorning (2-3 AM). But we did everything unknowingly without any intent to harm/steal/etc.

Trespassing has nothing to do with intent to cause damage. It relates to trespassing illegally. You admit to doing this.

so, if you walked up to a house and the door was slightly ajar and there were no no trespassing signs, you have the right to enter the house? If not, what is the difference between that and your situation?

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The police wanted to issue us a Class B misdemeanor, believing that we were up to something very unlawful.

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You were: trespassing

It's the prosecutor who offers deals, not the judge. You or, probably better, your lawyer can contact the prosecutor to see if any deals (such as a deferral) are on the table.

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Quoting youngcollegestudent

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The police wanted to issue us a Class B misdemeanor, believing that we were up to something very unlawful.

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Guess what? They were right! You WERE up to something "very unlawful." You were trespassing. IF we take you at your word, maybe you didn't have any intent to commit further crimes inside (theft, vandalism, drug use, etc.). But, by just going in you did commit a crime. You say there were no "clearly marked warning signs." That implies that there were signs but you didn't initially see them, decided they didn't really mean it, or decided that they were just unobtrusive enough that you could believably deny seeing them. But, the bottom line is you knew full well that it was not open to the public, you had no lawful business there, and you were not supposed to be there...especially at 3 am. You say you were "just walking around." However, I really cannot see the attraction of wandering through a closed and empty building at 3 am. So the cops' suspicions seem pretty reasonable to me.

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Quoting youngcollegestudent

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They seemed to have an immediate prejudice against us; seeing that we are college students, they argued that “we were too smart to be up to nothing.” (Not to mention, we’re also minorities.)

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I'm sure they did have an "immediate prejudice" against you. Cops have a way of feeling prejudicial against people they catch knowingly and willfully breaking the law. Like I said above, it seems pretty reasonable to believe that the only reason two young college students would sneak into an empty building at 3 am would be to steal something, vandalize something, or find an out-of-the-way place to smoke pot. What they were saying by their comment was that you didn't strike them as being so stupid that you would risk sneaking into the building without having some goal in doing so. But, according to your story, they were wrong I guess. Your implication that the cops were motivated by racial bigotry is not only petty, it's absurd under the circumstances you describe.

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Quoting youngcollegestudent

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They called the district attorney who ordered them to instead issue us a Class C misdemeanor for trespassing.

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Well, sounds like you caught a break already.

Who to say your were'nt gonna steal computer equipment or vandalize the place. Entering a school at 2am in the morning looks suspect,it's illegal but if it's was 4pm on a weekday it won't look so suspect even thou it's still illegal. The da might agree to a diversion program or let you plead to adjudication with held and then after a certain amount of time the charge can be expunged.

Being in the parking lot or ground is trespassing,once you entered the place your lucky they only charged you with that. See what can be arranged with a lawyer or see if you qualify for a legal aide. It's 2am and you walked in to a middle school,chance are if it was 2 white kids,the cops would want to charge them with the same crime. Racism exist in this world but come on man given the facts don't ingore common sense and just assume the cop is out to get you.