General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Starbucks thing... [View all]Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)The law for trespassing in PA has been posted elsewhere here. There are only two elements of it applicable here- were the persons told to leave by the owner or their representative (or told by the cops for that person) and did they refuse to leave and remain on the property.
Thats all the elements needed to have trespassing.
It doesnt say there has to be a company policy. So the cops cant on the spot decide that in this case they will add that to the law.
The law doesnt say a policy must be posted before its valid, so even if the law required a company policy they couldnt refuse to enforce it because its not posted.
The law doesnt say a law can only be enforced if the cops demand receipts or other stuff from everyone else not involved in the case.
The law doesnt say the cops get to second guess the property owner and do checks to see if they are being fair, with fair left to whatever standards the cops make up on the fly.
And the law doesnt say that if whatever new rules the cops make up on the fly are not met to whatever standards the cops make up on the fly they they can just refuse to enforce the actual written laws passed by the state legislature.
What you are wanting is the cops to make up new laws and aspects to existing laws and do their job based not on the law as written, but as they make it up as they go. And in this case to make up so much new stuff that they enforce the law 100% opposite of what it says.
Thats not how it works. Thats not how it should work. And it is not how you should want it to work.
Because while in your hypothetical way to resolve it by making up laws as they go it works out perfectly, the real world results would be anything but.
If you dont like how trespassing laws work, the proper avenue for change is in the legislature. Its not expecting cops to start making up new parts of the law as they go and enforcing the parts of the law they just made up.