# What is the legal status of consuming publicly accessible things on private property? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511 "2013-12-04T20:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/41 "2013-12-06T01:23:52Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > No. He was arrested for: > You can’t do that. > **Well I’m going to keep doing it.** Cite for the bolded quote? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/42 "2013-12-06T02:06:13Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > He was authorized to be on the premises. [Perhaps not…](http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/12/04/Nickels-worth-of-power-lands-Georgia-man-in-jail-for-15-hours/UPI-15401386211657/?spt=rln&or=1) > [@](#): > > It was during Ford’s follow-up investigation that he was told Kamooneh did not have permission to use the power outlet and that he had previously been told he was not allowed on the school tennis courts without permission ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/43 "2013-12-06T02:45:42Z")
In public places I’m aware of where there are outdoor electrical outlets, they are often switched off or locked to prevent unauthorized use. I think this will become more prevalent as more electric cars go on the road, not the offering of free electricity. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/44 "2013-12-06T04:06:59Z")
> [@KermitTheFrig](#): > > In public places I’m aware of where there are outdoor electrical outlets, they are often switched off or locked to prevent unauthorized use. > > I think this will become more prevalent as more electric cars go on the road, not the offering of free electricity. It’s OT, but I suspect what we’ll see is the provision, in shopping centres and places of employment, of (240V) outlets at parking spaces, but metered, so that you have the convenience of charging your car, but not the subsidy of free fuel. It’s not beyond the wit of man to devise an outlet that can be activated by a user using a smartphone app, which debits the cost to a pre-registered credit card or debit card. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/45 "2013-12-06T04:46:16Z")
Something that might be missed in the articles is that this guy doesn’t even live in the town, so it’s not like he was charging his car while attending a school function with his kid. He just decided this school was his to use however he saw fit. Either [this](http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ga-man-arrested-charging-electric-car-local-middle/story?id=21098590) paragraph is poorly written or the guy is a complete jerk: > [@](#): > > The police say that Kamooneh was warned about being on the school property, but Kamooneh said he was never warned about not using the school’s power. According to a police report, school employees said they had seen him on school property previously, “specifically the tennis courts,” but Kamooneh said only he, the tennis instructor and his son are typically at the school on Saturdays or Sundays. “You were warned not to be there.” “But I wasn’t warned not to use their power!” “Employees have seen you there.” “That is absolutely false, we’re always the only ones there!” ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/46 "2013-12-06T05:09:10Z")
Well, the overall flavour of the linked news reports is that the guy comes across as someone with a considerable sense of entitlement. Ironically, it’s possible that this may stand to him, depending on the state of Georgian law. If it’s a defence to the charge to show he had a belief in his right to take the power, and he doesn’t have to show that the belief was reasonable but merely that it was honestly held, an assumption that he’s entitled to take electricity from anyone who hasn’t explicitly told him that he mustn’t may be objectively unreasonable, but may nevertheless be honestly-held by somebody with a well-developed sense of entitlement. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/47 "2013-12-06T18:12:50Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Cite for the bolded quote? That the police said that if he just unplugged no big deal. Makes it sound like he refused to unplug his car. I just find it hard to believe that the guy thinks a school is public property for any use whatsoever. Is his thinking open space + government property = public access at all times? I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Even the argument that he could use the water fountain outside is questionable since I don’t think he had permission to be there - and I thought that even before it came out that he was told not to be there. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/48 "2013-12-06T18:41:42Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > That the police said that if he just unplugged no big deal. Makes it sound like he refused to unplug his car. According to the defendant’s account, his car had already been unplugged by the officer when he arrived. The police chief said that if he had _apologized_ things would be fine. Ergo, contempt of cop. If an action is a crime, it should be a crime whether or not you are polite to the police officer who confronts you. If it’s not a crime, then it should not be a crime. Sure, there are issues like resisting arrest and otherwise failing to comply with orders. But that’s not what happened here. He wasn’t arrested on the spot. He might have been snotty to the officer, but that’s not a crime. He was apparently arrested to teach him a lesson about kowtowing to the police. Which is sickening. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/49 "2013-12-06T18:43:28Z")
So it’s sounds like Kamooneh was told, repeatedly, that he could not use the school’s tennis courts and he could not park on school grounds on the weekends. Kamooneh’s response was to continue to park on school grounds and to use the tennis courts. And he decides to steal electricity from the school. Why am I not surprised that he says no one saw him doing this because he says he, his son, and the tennis insstructor were the only one there. He admits that he was there but the school/police can’t confirm his self-admission??? What a maroon! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I can only hope that the judge accedentally uses Kamooneh’s head as gavel block. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/50 "2013-12-06T19:06:38Z")
Basically, it sounds like the guy was a bit of a dick… > [@](#): > > the police officer wrote, “I asked him why his vehicle was plugged into the power at the school. He told me that was an excepted [sic] practice and that I was making to [sic] much of it. I asked him if he has [sic] asked the Dekalb County school system if he could take the power. He told me that I did not ask if my patrol car can dirty the air – did you? He says ‘No you did not’.” ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/51 "2013-12-06T19:11:53Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > He was apparently arrested to teach him a lesson about kowtowing to the police. Which is sickening. Someone needs to teach this entitled jackass a lesson. He’s in a place where he knows he’s not welcome, takes electricity he knows he’s not entitled to, and when called out on it, is rude and argumentative. He deserves for this incident to as inconvenient as possible for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/52 "2013-12-06T19:25:58Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > He was apparently arrested to teach him a lesson about kowtowing to the police. Which is sickening. It would be one thing if a cop was telling him to wear nicer clothes and call his mother once in a while and the individual told the cop to mind his own business, resulting in an unjustified arrest. It’s another thing if the cop told him to stop doing something he was legally not allowed to do and he told the cop to buzz off. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/53 "2013-12-06T20:23:23Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > It would be one thing if a cop was telling him to wear nicer clothes and call his mother once in a while and the individual told the cop to mind his own business, resulting in an unjustified arrest. It’s another thing if the cop told him to stop doing something he was legally not allowed to do and he told the cop to buzz off. That does not seem to be the case here, here the cop was inside his car, arguably illegally, far overstepping the bounds of his legal authority IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/54 "2013-12-06T20:28:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > That the police said that if he just unplugged no big deal. Makes it sound like he refused to unplug his car. I think you’re clearly extrapolating, and maybe correctly, but that’s not what any story I’ve read says. He objected to the cop getting into his car and argued, but I can’t find even a partial cite for him saying he’d do it again. Clearly, there’s a lot more to this story, like why he was banned from the school and tennis courts (where his kid was having lessons - huh?) I suspect that “more” is that the guy is a real asshole. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/55 "2013-12-06T22:58:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Someone needs to teach this entitled jackass a lesson. > > He’s in a place where he knows he’s not welcome, takes electricity he knows he’s not entitled to, and when called out on it, is rude and argumentative. He deserves for this incident to as inconvenient as possible for himself. I disagree strongly. The criminal justice system is not the place to regulate whether someone’s being a dick or not. Look, it’s entirely possible that this guy is guilty of theft, was repeatedly told not to do what he was doing, and deserves punishment. It’s hard to say at this point, but I’m sure that evidence will come out. What is totally _unreasonable_ is the police chief saying that if he’d just apologized that day, this would be no big deal. That’s what I am opposed to. If he’s doing something wrong, it doesn’t matter if he says “I’m sorry”. If he’s not doing something wrong, it’s not illegal to ask why a police officer is inside your car, or to refuse to answer his questions. I totally don’t understand how he could have been repeatedly told not to use the school property if his kid was having tennis lessons there. Unless the tennis lessons are unauthorized as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/56 "2013-12-07T15:04:20Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I totally don’t understand how he could have been repeatedly told not to use the school property if his kid was having tennis lessons there. Unless the tennis lessons are unauthorized as well. I don’t know, but I’m guessing the guy hired the private instructor to give his kid tennis lessons, and when the question of where to have the lessons came up, one of the three of them said, “We can use the courts over at Chamblee High School. There’s never anyone there on weekends.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/57 "2013-12-07T20:32:27Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > That does not seem to be the case here, here the cop was inside his car, arguably illegally, far overstepping the bounds of his legal authority IMHO. yes, I wondered why he was inside the car – just going to the outlet & unplugging the cord would have worked. That’s what we do when people park campers in a space & plug in without paying the camping fee at the Mn State Fairgrounds: first time, they get unplugged and left a note a& a payment envelope. Second time, we don’t unplug, just cut the end off the cord. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/58 "2013-12-08T05:43:15Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > As fascinated as I am by electric car brouhaha, here’s a different example. In Los Angeles, we have lots of fruit trees. It is legal for the public to harvest fruit from a privately owned tree if the fruit overhangs a public space–typically the sidewalk, maybe the easement counts too. Not sure if this is a city, county, or state law. Three Men on the Bummel, Jerome K. Jerome: > **[Three Men on the Bummel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_on_the_Bummel)** > > Three Men on the Bummel (also known as Three Men on Wheels) is a humorous novel by Jerome K. Jerome. It was published in 1900, eleven years after his most famous work, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). > The sequel brings back the three companions who figured in Three Men in a Boat, this time on a bicycle tour through Germany. D. C. Browning's introduction to the 1957 Everyman's edition says "Like most sequels, it has been compared unfavourably with its parent story, but it was o... "The fruiterer and greengrocer is a person unknown in the Vosges. Most things of that kind grow wild, and are to be had for the picking. It is difficult to keep to any programme when walking through the Vosges, the temptation on a hot day to stop and eat fruit generally being too strong for resistance. … … … “Here is a man coming up the hill,” I observed, “who looks like a native. Maybe, he will know where we can find some more greengages.” “He walks well for an old chap,” remarked Harris. He certainly was climbing the hill at a remarkable pace. Also, so far as we were able to judge at that distance, he appeared to be in a remarkably cheerful mood, singing and shouting at the top of his voice, gesticulating, and waving his arms. “What a merry old soul it is,” said Harris; “it does one good to watch him. But why does he carry his stick over his shoulder? Why doesn’t he use it to help him up the hill?” “Do you know, I don’t think it is a stick,” said George. “What can it be, then?” asked Harris. “Well, it looks to me,” said George, “more like a gun.” … … … George said: “I am tired of this place. Besides, it’s getting late.” Harris said: “If he goes at that rate he will fall and hurt himself. Besides, I don’t believe he knows the way.” I felt lonesome up there all by myself, with nobody to speak to. Besides, not since I was a boy, I reflected, had I enjoyed a run down a really steep hill. I thought I would see if I could revive the sensation. It is a jerky exercise, but good, I should say, for the liver. " ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/59 "2013-12-08T10:11:49Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > That’s what we do when people park campers in a space & plug in without paying the camping fee at the Mn State Fairgrounds: first time, they get unplugged and left a note & a payment envelope. Second time, we don’t unplug, just cut the end off the cord. That sounds illegal to me!\* Destroying someone’s property without a court order? If you can cut the wire, why not cut his brake lines, too, or remove the battery from his engine.? Sure, he’s violating the law by using your services and not paying the fee. But that is true of, say, anybody who parks in a parking lot and doesnt pay the fee. And we’re suposed to to punish people using courts and judges, not vigilante actions. \*(it also sounds like a practical and effective method to make people pay the 5 bucks cash for the camping site, too. 🙂 And a whole lot easier than calling a cop to write a ticket and then tow the vehicle. But that doesn’t make it legal.) ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511/60 "2013-12-08T13:02:21Z")
I am sure the owner of the camper would be just as free to take the campsite to court, arguing “But judge, he vandalised my property while I was stealing from him!!” If you’re in my house stealing my television, and I destroy some of your personal property in an effort to protect my own, I am not sure that’s illegal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-legal-status-of-consuming-publicly-accessible-things-on-private-property/675511.md?page=4)