Drive down any road in rural America and you will see the red and black signs everywhere---“no trespassing.” Property owners put up these signs to keep people off their property. In cities, these signs may be on buildings where protestors frequently march such as an abortion clinic. You can receive a trespassing violation if you were found on property and if you knew you shouldn’t be there. You were likely asked to leave before being arrested on a trespassing violation. In most states, trespassing is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of up to $1,000 and/or a year in the county jail. Some states have lower maximum penalties for a trespassing violation. If convicted of a misdemeanor, it will stay on your criminal record. In some municipalities, trespassing is punished by a citation and fine and not an arrest. This keeps an arrest off the offender’s record as long as he or she pays the fine.