Purple Paint Law

[lol]

My experience isn't just that the hands are tied because of judges. At times the cops are tying the property owners hands because they are friends with the ones trespassing and are guilty their self. TN does not take property rights serious unless you have the correct last name.

As much as folks don't like trespassing, its a class C misdemeanor. Its in the same category of crimes as littering, speeding, and disorderly conduct. The criminal justice system isn't going to throw resources at a crime that is categorized as minor. The teeth of enforcement is going to come from judicial process against repeated offenders. Planking mentioned a 12 month restraining order in his case. The restraining order makes subsequent trespass a Class A misdemeanor which is one step below a felony. This is the same category of crime as stalking or domestic assault. Repeat violations of restraining order can become felonies and result in prison time.

 

[lol]

The reason I didn't use purple paint is because I've seen landowners use it, and it can't be seen from a distance. It is a very dull color. You have to really look for it in the woods. I chose bright orange because it can be seen from a long way away, especially after leaf-fall. But it still catches your attention in the heavy green of summer.

The best approach would probably be a combination, Orange to draw attention, and Purple to ensure trespass could be prosecuted.

 

[mike243]

I always wondered why a brite color wasn't chosen, it can be hard to spot in cloudy low light conditions, seems counterproductive to me, maybe brite colors cost more?

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Posted Signs Archives - Voss Signs

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If you order a couple hundred, you can get the cost of the aluminum signs down to about $1.50 each.

And I highly recommend getting a box of the aluminum nails for mounting. Those nails won't harm a chainsaw as much.

We got hundreds of these off your recommendation several years ago. They are great. We've just about got our whole property done now. Signs every 30 yards and purple paint heavy in between. You will NOT accidentally be on our property

 

[lol]

I always wondered why a brite color wasn't chosen, it can be hard to spot in cloudy low light conditions, seems counterproductive to me, maybe brite colors cost more?

Supposedly they went with purple because it doesn't generally occur frequently in nature and would stand out. I think this makes more sense with fence posts in pastures than in the woods. In any event, Arkansas passed the first law and picked the color and other states copied their law, including the color.

 

[DaveTN]

I don't know if I would waste the money. People know the property isn't theirs, they don't care. Unless there is damage or a theft, I doubt anyone will get arrested for simple trespass. But I guess if something happened, that could be an additional charge if they found someone, and if you have met the additional hoops, they have put in your way to jump through.

 

[TNTreeman]

Three time offender caught trying to shoot a buck at my place with a rifle during bow season. He lost his rifle and 6 months of no hunting. Laws have no teeth.

 

[BigAl]

Why was the color purple chosen? What shade qualifies?

I think Prince has a say-so in this.

 

[TRHC]

Youve wasted time with orange paint unless your signs are close enough together. Cant prosecute on orange paint

I've read and heard that before in other places and that's just straight up dumb. Painted property lines are painted property lines. Color should not matter here.

Back when I worked for Mead, we had crews paint miles and miles of lines with blue paint. Some of these lines had been painted every 10 years or so for decades. Heard some grumble years later about current owners not being able to prosecute due to the purple paint laws. That just seems ridiculous.

 

[MickThompson]

I've read and heard that before in other places and that's just straight up dumb. Painted property lines are painted property lines. Color should not matter here.

Back when I worked for Mead, we had crews paint miles and miles of lines with blue paint. Some of these lines had been painted every 10 years or so for decades. Heard some grumble years later about current owners not being able to prosecute due to the purple paint laws. That just seems ridiculous.

Blue is commonly used to mark timber cut boundaries within a property so that's understandable

 

[knightrider]

I've read and heard that before in other places and that's just straight up dumb. Painted property lines are painted property lines. Color should not matter here.

Back when I worked for Mead, we had crews paint miles and miles of lines with blue paint. Some of these lines had been painted every 10 years or so for decades. Heard some grumble years later about current owners not being able to prosecute due to the purple paint laws. That just seems ridiculous.

Lots of things in this life are dumb, but the law is the law. Doesnt matter what you done for decades it wont stand. We must do our due diligence to follow every letter of the law if we want to have a chance at prosecuting the idiots that dont.

 

[knightrider]

Blue is commonly used to mark timber cut boundaries within a property so that's understandable

Big difference in timber cut boundaries and no trespassing markings.

 

[TRHC]

Big difference in timber cut boundaries and no trespassing markings.

Yeah, those lines I talked about had existing paint of all colors. Red, orange, yellow, then for us, blue. Seemed every time the land changed hands, the new company would touch up the lines with a new color. They'd always leave some of the older paint showing to help prove that line segment had been previously established. Sometimes you'd have 3-4 colors showing on a single tree. And yes, blue does sometimes indicate a cut area or SMZ, but no one blazes and chops bark for those.

 

[grill-n-man2]

Tennessee state law on trespassing is simple. If you do not own the land nor have written permission by the landowner you are trespassing. There is no requirement for paint nor signs to be present to be able to charge some for trespassing. The paint/sign thing came about as a bandage patch for landowners to build stronger cases against trespassing. I have always been confused how people get confused by this. Your front yard , back yard or 1000 acre farm is covered by the same state law for trespassing. Yes it's a low level crime but by law trespassing is the same on a 1/4 acre lot or a 1000 acre farm. Why do you think law enforcement needs a warrant to legally come on a piece of property? Because state laws simply and clearly defines trespassing.

 

[hunter0925]

Tennessee state law on trespassing is simple. If you do not own the land nor have written permission by the landowner you are trespassing. There is no requirement for paint nor signs to be present to be able to charge some for trespassing. The paint/sign thing came about as a bandage patch for landowners to build stronger cases against trespassing. I have always been confused how people get confused by this. Your front yard , back yard or 1000 acre farm is covered by the same state law for trespassing. Yes it's a low level crime but by law trespassing is the same on a 1/4 acre lot or a 1000 acre farm. Why do you think law enforcement needs a warrant to legally come on a piece of property? Because state laws simply and clearly defines trespassing.

State law may define it but law enforcement and judges will not enforce it. Guaranteed from experience.

 

[scn]

Tennessee state law on trespassing is simple. If you do not own the land nor have written permission by the landowner you are trespassing. There is no requirement for paint nor signs to be present to be able to charge some for trespassing. The paint/sign thing came about as a bandage patch for landowners to build stronger cases against trespassing. I have always been confused how people get confused by this. Your front yard , back yard or 1000 acre farm is covered by the same state law for trespassing. Yes it's a low level crime but by law trespassing is the same on a 1/4 acre lot or a 1000 acre farm. Why do you think law enforcement needs a warrant to legally come on a piece of property? Because state laws simply and clearly defines trespassing.

Not really on the lack of signage.

Yes, as you state, that is trespass. However, if you actually read the law concerning trespass, it states that it is a legal defense to the charge of trespass if there is not proper signage at all major points of ingress into the property.

2023 Tennessee Code :: Title 39 - CRIMINAL OFFENSES (§§ 39-1-101 — 39-17-1812) :: Chapter 14 - OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY (§§ 39-14-101 — 39-14-909) :: Part 4 - BURGLARY AND RELATED OFFENSES (§§ 39-14-401 — 39-14-414) :: Section 39-14-405 - Criminal t

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