(a) Every person who willfully trespasses or, having no legitimate purpose for his or
her presence, remains upon the land of another or upon the premises or curtilage of
the domicile of any person legally entitled to the possession of that domicile, after
having been forbidden to do so by the owner of the land or the owner’s duly authorized
agent or a person legally entitled to the possession of the premises, shall be punished
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding one year, or both.
(b) This section shall not apply to tenants or occupants of residential premises who,
having rightfully entered the premises at the commencement of the tenancy or occupancy,
remain after that tenancy or occupancy has been or is alleged to have been terminated.
The owner or landlord of the premises may recover possession only through appropriate
civil proceedings.
(c) Where the provisions of The Domestic Violence Prevention Act, chapter 29 of title 12, are applicable, the penalties for violation of this section shall also include the
penalties as provided in § 12-29-5.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
8
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case:
Fratiello v. Mancuso, 653 F. Supp. 775 (D.R.I. 1987).
Fratiello v. Mancuso, 653 F. Supp. 775 (D.R.I. 1987).
“Laws 1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 11-44-26; disorderly conduct in violation of § 11-45-1(b); and, disruption of a public school session, a violation of § 11-11-1.”
Peltier v. Roy, 453 F. Supp. 1373 (D.R.I. 1978).
· cites it 6× “It is further provided, R.I.Gen.Laws § 11-44-26, that: Every person who wilfully trespasses or having no legitimate purpose for his presence, remains upon the land of another .”
State v. Demers, 525 A.2d 1308 (R.I. 1987).
· cites it 2× “1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 11-44-26, as amended by P.L. 1983, ch. 52, § 1, which in pertinent part provides that “Every person who wilfully trespasses or having no legitimate purpose for his presence, remains upon the land of another * * * after having been forbidden to do so * *…”
In the Matter of Mosco, 13 A.3d 652 (R.I. 2011).
· cites it 2× “1956 § 11-5-2; and one misdemeanor count of willful trespass, in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-44-26. He was sentenced to a five year term of imprisonment, sentence suspended, with five years of probation on the felony count.”
Kevin M. Blais v. Rhode Island Airport Corp. (R.I. 2019).
· cites it 4× “In connection with that incident, Blais was subsequently prosecuted for criminal trespass pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 11-44-26. Blais was convicted in the District Court and appealed to the Superior Court for a trial de novo.”
State v. Turner, 655 A.2d 693 (R.I. 1995).
“1956 (1981 Reenactment) §§ 11-44-26 and 11-8-2. After a thorough examination of the record we believe a genuine dispute exists over whether a break occurred.”
State v. Irving Johnson (R.I. 2025).
“1956 § 11-44-1 and one count of willful trespass in violation of § 11-44-26 for an incident that occurred on July 12, 2020.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.