Criminal Trespass Charges in Oregon

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Oregon

So in August 2012 i went for a hike with my uncle with day packs on into Private logging property with Recreational use signs that state what you can and can't do: CAN NOT DO remove forest products, have fire, camp, target shoot, or drive OFF road vehicles. I had a chain saw (SMALL one) with me to clear an old logging road with some small trees that had blown over blocking the road. The fire danger Low by the local Forestry Dept. I had a serious accident Life altering and my uncle left for help i hiked out slowly being 2 miles behind a gate and Ambulace picked me up on the main highway. Due to 911 being called the State police was dispatched out and also the land owner Logging Co. was called. I was long gone before they arrived but my uncle went back to get items we left behind as to just get out for ovious reasons. The Police and Land rep was there when My uncle arrived to get the items and was then cited with Criminal Tresspass By definition due to the fact we had a chain saw on there property. AS i healed he went to court as my uncle checked in on court date the charges were dropped but had to pay some Count/state processing fee. 10 months have went by and the same state police officer stopped by to give me my cittation for criminal tresspass 2. I have pictures of the sign and there are no indications of I cant use a chain saw on there property which has all the public do's and don't listed. I had an accident thats all I paid for said accident thru my finances and my personal Insurance. I do not want anything from them. well except no charge on my record. Should I fight this or should I try to just get it dropped with the 300-4-- processing fee like my uncle did. I feel we did nothing wrong based on the signs they have posted. I Hunt, Fish, have a Concealed hand gun permit and work at a CHip manufacture that frowns upon Felony's and criminal activities. I did not know I could not do what I did nor do i want to loose any of my rights/privledges i now have. any info would be much appreciated.

You do not have a right to cut their wood, even if it has fallen, without permission. If you need a sign to say that, you are going to have a lot of problems in life. Not everything in life is going to have a sign on it saying:

don't do [this]



what is the specific charge- the code section

the charge is Criminal Tresspass 2, 164.245 Thanks for the words of wisdow on the sign. Its always nice to get some sarcasm. Since i was only trying to make the approved horse riding trail safe to ride with the blow down of trees accross it and since the sign states what you can and cannot do. I cleared the down wood to the side of the trail. there was no criminal intent here just recreating on land that is set up for recreating but wanted to do it safely.

But on the other side, it didn't say nothing.

This:

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Quoting honda1

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the charge is Criminal Tresspass 2, 164.245

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Quoting O.R.S. Sec. 164.245 Criminal trespass in the second degree.

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(1) A person commits the crime of criminal trespass in the second degree if the person enters or remains unlawfully in a motor vehicle or in or upon premises.

(2) Criminal trespass in the second degree is a Class C misdemeanor.

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Quoting O.R.S. Sec. 164.205, Definitions for ORS 164.205 to 164.270, Sec. (3)-(4)

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(3) Enter or remain unlawfully means:

(a) To enter or remain in or upon premises when the premises, at the time of such entry or remaining, are not open to the public or when the entrant is not otherwise licensed or privileged to do so;


(b) To fail to leave premises that are open to the public after being lawfully directed to do so by the person in charge;


(c) To enter premises that are open to the public after being lawfully directed not to enter the premises; or


(d) To enter or remain in a motor vehicle when the entrant is not authorized to do so.

(4) Open to the public means premises which by their physical nature, function, custom, usage, notice or lack thereof or other circumstances at the time would cause a reasonable person to believe that no permission to enter or remain is required.

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Note that it is possible to commit the trespassing offense even if you're authorized to be on the property by taking your vehicle to an area that is off-limits to vehicles. Take a college campus for example - you can enter on foot and walk in the green areas, or drive on the roads and parking lots, but the public nature of the space does not mean you're authorized to drive or park on the lawns and sidewalks. If you knew or should have known that you were not supposed to take your vehicle up the horse trail, then I can see the basis for the charge.

Also, the prosecutor could argue that you're only authorized to be on the land if you're not engaged in a "can not do" activity, and that when your on somebody's land with a chainsaw, cutting their wood, you're violating the restriction: "CAN NOT DO remove forest products". You can try to argue that you had no intention of removing the wood from the land, but the court might not believe you, or may interpret "remove" more broadly so as to include any movement of forest products not authorized by the landowner. (For a larceny charge, the traditional standard is that if you move somebody's property with the intent to permanently deprive them of ownership, any movement no matter how slight will support the charge. The width of a hair. If the judge takes a similar view of "remove" in this case, you could be argued to have "removed" forest products the moment the chain saw touched bark and created a wood chip or sawdust. I doubt that there is case law on this issue, and I may be getting into "worst case scenarios" for how the judge would interpret the language, but it's something you would want to discuss with your lawyer.)

If I were representing you I might consider a pretrial motion to try to get the charge dismissed, but I could not guarantee that I would win or that, even if the judge agreed, the prosecutor might not brainstorm an alternate or additional charge that would better fit the facts - or that the dismissal on payment of costs would remain an option if I made the prosecutor work. Also, if by "get it dropped with the 300-4-- processing fee" you mean that you can get an outright dismissal upon payment of a fee of $300-$300, it's difficult to believe your legal fees would not significantly exceed that amount.

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Quoting honda1

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the charge is Criminal Tresspass 2, 164.245 Thanks for the words of wisdow on the sign. Its always nice to get some sarcasm. Since i was only trying to make the approved horse riding trail safe to ride with the blow down of trees accross it and since the sign states what you can and cannot do. I cleared the down wood to the side of the trail. there was no criminal intent here just recreating on land that is set up for recreating but wanted to do it safely.

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that wasn't sarcasm. It was an honest statement written with direct intent.

It is not your obligation, duty, nor right to chop wood on their land. If you are not happy with the trails as they are, you either ride elsewhere or ask the owners if you can cut the wood that is fallen across the path. The owners of the land have a a concern of liability and you taking actions that could result in serious injury or death is not something they want to see you doing.

Now comes the sarcasm:

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with Recreational use signs that state what you can and can't do

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I bet you didn't see anything on that sign authorizing you to cut the wood, did you?

I suspect there was nothing saying you couldn't run nude through the woods and enjoy sex with the fauna, was there? I bet you had a hunch that wasn't allowed though, didn't you?

SO with a permit you can cut wood to remove it for fire wood. I did not remove it. i am only making the pooint that there was no malicious intent or criminal intent here and that in life people make mistakes upon the information they have. I will admit that i should have asked now that i understand the the info given to me. That being said I do not belive I knowingly comitted this crime so Criminal 2 tresspass is extreme to me and is not accurate.

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I honestly do not belive I knowingly commited this crime based on the info on the sign. I had a lengthy conversation with the Land owners Security Rep. today and he is happy that I am communicating with him but stesses the point that it was there land and I broke the rules when i brought the saw on the property. I discussed with him that i have used the property for years and wished to be respectful and professional about handing this. I explained to him that I felt I was doing no harm be cause I was not removing his forest products and he and I both aggreed that the size of the already downed trees were a fire wood item which is still there and could still be just that for who ever got a removal permit. He seemed to be a bit aprehensive but willing to understand where i was coming from and listen as i did for him. I am hoping to work out a lesser charge with the chance to still use the property and with both parties feeling like we understand eachother and show that I know I made a mistake but did not commit this crime as stated.

Sounds good but be cautious with what you say. After all, you are facing a criminal charge.

Dont take the statements here as suggesting you are some God awful person. Realize that your argument was one of: they didn't say I couldn't do it so it has to be ok. Common sense is a great friend when it comes to figuring out what laws might be in place. While you may not have had any criminal intent, there are a hundred people with chainsaws that would.

If you are truly as innocent as you clAim, I hope the charges are outright dismissed. Take this as a lesson. The land and wood belongs to others. You are only allowed to do exactly what the rules say. If you desire to do anything else, ask first.

Thanks, So from the date of the Accident approx 1 year ago to a week ago when the officer showed up to give me the citation I never new I had done anything wrong and now one land owner wise or law enforcement wise ever saw me or approached me about this before. I did have a friend with me who was on the property later that same day after I had left that was infact seen and approached by both land owner and lawenforcement. I however was not there so my next Question would be other than my friend saying I was there what proof do they have to even give me a citation in the first place? I did not hide or run away I was simply gone.

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Without proof of seeing me doing this how can the land owner press charges or the officer even give me a citation/charge me?

wow, talk about not being in a hurry.

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Without proof of seeing me doing this how can the land owner press charges or the officer even give me a citation/charge me?

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how did they come to the conclusion you were there to begin with?