When the FBI Guys Come Knocking...

[David Honig]

At 10:07 PM 9/25/01 -0700, Tim May wrote:
>
>Not answering the door makes them _at least_ wait until one has to leave.
>
>Oh, and they can't wait _on_ your property, now can they? That would be 
>trespassing.
>

I think its not trespass until you've advised them to leave, if they
approach a door.  Don't know about signage by your driveway; locally
you need a 3 signs per mile (IIRC) on your property to keep people
away.  Not sure about how long you can linger at a closed door.
Does lingering become harassment? 

Aside, on property rights: I learned that in LA county  the
county Vector Control (ie, mosquito) people can come onto your property
to sample standing water, if they suspect it; and even add fish to your 
standing water (eg birdbath) pools.


>
>I have about a 200-foot driveway from my house to the semi-public road 
>serving our hill. They can't wait _on_ my property, without trespassing. 

If you had a gate with sign, probably not.  But an open driveway is
ok.

When I was ~10 my dad, who recognized a server, sent me out to tell the
guy to leave.  (We had a similarly long driveway.)  He left.  It was cool.

>This means I can get in my car and get out without being served. (There 
>is no requirement that a car window be rolled down to receive papers.)

Cypherpunks don't talk to strangers.  Except to tell them to go away.
Maybe using a voice-changer to say that.


>(If I see someone skulking around on my property, I would be morally 
>justified in shooting them, of course. Demanding that they leave, from a 
>window, and threatening to shoot is probably not actionable even in 
>today's weird legal climate. Actually shooting them, while morally 
>justified, is proably not wise.)

You could peer from a window with a rifle pointing at the sky, but
I'd be careful about pointing it towards even uninvited visitors.

This thread is an advertisement for big noisy dogs, too.