Court Opinion

ID: 9549550
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:20:35.818719+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:20:28.424030
License: Public Domain

Thompson, C. J.,
dissenting:
Truman Scott seeks a writ of prohibition to preclude the pronouncement of judgment and imposition of sentence upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of criminal trespass as defined by NRS 207.200. His petition rests upon the premise that the justice of the peace is without jurisdiction to pronounce judgment and impose sentence since the cited statute does not embrace the circumstances of this case. This contention is sound.
NRS 207.200 provides:'
“1. Every person who shall go upon the land of another with intent to vex or annoy the owner or occupant thereof, or to commit any unlawful act, or shall willfully go or remain upon any land after having been warned by the owner or occupant thereof not to trespass thereon, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2. Every owner or other occupant of any land shall be deemed to have given a sufficient warning against trespassing, within the meaning of this section, who shall post in a conspicuous manner on each side thereof, upon or near the boundary, at intervals of not more than 700 feet, signs, legibly printed or painted in the English language, warning persons not to trespass.
*143. An entryman on land under the laws of the United States shall be an owner within the meaning of this section.”
The three subsections must be read in order to ascertain the evil sought to be corrected by the enactment. Indeed, subsections 2 and 3 are expressly tied to subsection 1 by the language “within the meaning of this section.” Thus, the entire section, i.e., NRS 207.200(1) (2) and (3), must be considered for one to discern legislative intent.
The apparent aim of the entire section is to protect landowners (such as agricultural and mining property owners), who are not in the business of inviting guests to their property in anticipation of financial gain, from trespassers. Subsection 2 of the statute gives the clue, for it allows “no trespass” warnings to be given by posting signs at intervals of not more than 700 feet upon or near the boundary on each side of the land to be protected against invasion. In my opinion this subsection reveals the legislative intention, and precludes application of any part of 207.200 to an invited hotel guest whose invitation to be present is subsequently withdrawn.
The fault of the majority opinion lies in its refusal to acknowledge the interplay of the three subsections. Indeed, only a part of the first subsection is quoted in that opinion. The balance of the section is ignored. The intermediate appellate court decisions cited by the majority [People v. Brown, 47 Cal.Rptr. 662 (Cal.App. 1965), and State v. Carriker, 214 N.E.2d 809 (1964)] do not concern criminal trespass statutes containing provisions similar to subsections 2 and 3 of NRS 207.200, and are inapposite. It is not useful to cite authority for the established principle that criminal statutes are to receive a strict construction. I respectfully suggest that the application of NRS 207.200 to the circumstances of this case violates that principle. I would grant prohibition.