What is the law on Criminal Trespass in Shawnee Municipal Court?

The city of Shawnee has adopted the Uniform Code for Kansas Municipalities for nearly all acts that the city wishes to criminalize. The Uniform Code of Kansas Municipalities is a general code adopted by many cities in Kansas. It is designed to create consistency in the law between cities as well as, to reduce the cost associated with municipal code promulgation. Here is the Shawnee City Code prohibiting Criminal Trespass.

Sec. 6.7. Criminal Trespass.

(a) Criminal trespass is entering or remaining upon or in any:

(1) Land, non-navigable body of water, structure, vehicle, aircraft or watercraft by a person who knows such person is not authorized or privileged to do so, and:

(A) Such person enters or remains therein in defiance of an order not to enter or to leave such premises or property personally communicated to such person by the owner thereof or other authorized person;

(B) Such premises or property are posted as provided in K.S.A. 32-1013, and amendments thereto, or in any other manner reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders, or are locked or fenced or otherwise enclosed, or shut or secured against passage or entry; or

(C) Such person enters or remains therein in defiance of a restraining order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and the restraining order has been personally served upon the person so restrained.

(2) Public or private land or structure in a manner that interferes with access to or from any health care facility by a person who knows such person is not authorized or privileged to do so and such person enters or remains thereon or therein in defiance of an order not to enter or to leave such land or structure personally communicated to such person by the owner of the health care facility or other authorized person.

(b) (1) This section shall not apply to a land surveyor, licensed pursuant to article 70 of chapter 74 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments 61 thereto, and such surveyor’s authorized agents and employees who enter upon lands, waters, and other premises in the making of a survey; or (2) Railroad Property as defined in K.S.A. 21- 5809, and amendments thereto, or nuclear generating facility as defined in K.S.A. 66-2302 and amendments thereto.

(c) Criminal trespass is a Class B violation.

Upon a conviction of a violation of subsection (a)(1)(C), a person shall be sentenced to not less than 48 consecutive hours of imprisonment which shall be served either before or as a condition of any grant of probation or suspension, reduction of sentence or parole.

(d) As used in this section: (1) Health care facility means any licensed medical care facility, certificated health maintenance organization, licensed mental health center or mental health clinic, licensed psychiatric hospital or other facility or office where services of a health care provider are provided directly to patients; and (2) Health care provider means any person: (A) Licensed to practice a branch of the healing arts; (B) Licensed to practice psychology; (C) Licensed to practice professional or practical nursing; (D) Licensed to practice dentistry; (E) Licensed to practice optometry; (F) Licensed to practice pharmacy; (G) Registered to practice podiatry; (H) Licensed as a social worker; or (I) Registered to practice physical therapy (K.S.A. 21-5808)

Possible Punishment

*Class B Violations are punishable by up to 180 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class B Violations are eligible for probation

What do you do if you're charged with Criminal Trespass in Shawnee Municipal Court?

To start off, you're already doing the right thing, researching your problem. Anytime you are charged with breaking the law, or any serious problem for that matter, it is best to educate yourself. Starting off my looking at the law that it is alleged you have broken is a good start. Understanding the law beyond a simple reading can be a daunting task. Click this link to take a look at our in-depth analysis of criminal trespassing and how it applies in many different scenarios. After you've read the Shawnee city law on criminal trespass and done a deep dive understanding the law on criminal trespass, it's time to set up a meeting with an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Make sure to locate a lawyer that has experience with cases in Shawnee Municipal Court, so that you can ask utilize their experience in how cases are generally processed in Shawnee, how the judge generally handles cases like yours and ask general questions to rely on their experience.