What's the penalty for immobilizing someone's car? If they're free to put a boot on my car because it's on their property, why am I not free to remove a boot from my property?
What's the penalty for immobilizing someone's car? If they're free to put a boot on my car because it's on their property, why am I not free to remove a boot from my property?
"A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he or she intentionally damages any property of another without consent of that other person and the damage thereto is $500.00 or less or knowingly and maliciously interferes with the possession or use of the property of another person without consent of that person."
That sentence isn't the best, but I think it could be argued that it can be parsed as:
"A person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he or she <does this thing> or knowingly and maliciously interferes with the possession or use of the property of another person without consent of that person"
Unlocking it is arguably interfering with the use of the property of another person without consent; but is it malicious? Can't find a clear definition of "malicious" in Georgia law. I guess this is why lawyers get paid so much.
But taking a programmer’s look at paws like this is ill advised. These laws are there to smooth the process of the state enforcing whatever the most powerful lawyers involved in a particular matter want. No more no less.
Much as someone could interfere with use a car by locking something to it rendering it immobile, perhaps. If locking the boot to it isn't a crime under the very same law, unlocking it surely also isn't.
I do agree that the law is whatever a lawyer can successfully argue; I bet there are lawyers who can successfully argue that unlocking the boot isn't criminal trespass.