The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Thursday that Wyoming Statute § 6-3-414(c) and Wyoming Statute 40-27-101(c) are subject to First Amendment protections of free speech. The statutes, referred to as data-trespassing laws, define the crime of “civil trespass to access adjacent or proximate land” to occur if a person:
- Crosses private land to access adjacent or proximate land where he collects resource data;
And Does not have:
- An ownership interest in the real property or, statutory, contractual or other legal authorization to cross the private land; or
- Written or verbal permission of the owner, lessee or agent of the owner to cross the private land.
