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Is this the statute they were charged with? I trimmed out some of the statute included here and upcased the interesting parts. The last line is upper case in the statute. This is not legal advice. I hope their lawyers actually read the statute. 810.011 Definitions.--As used in this chapter: (1) "STRUCTURE" means a building of any kind, either temporary or permanent, WHICH HAS A ROOF OVER IT, together with the curtilage thereof. However, during the time of a state of emergency declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor under chapter 252 and within the area covered by such executive order or proclamation and for purposes of ss. 810.02 and 810.08 only, the term means a building of any kind or such portions or remnants thereof as exist at the original site, regardless of absence of a wall or roof. (5)(a) "POSTED land" is that land upon which SIGNS ARE PLACED not more than 500 feet apart along, and at each corner of, the boundaries of the land, upon which SIGNS there appears prominently, in letters of not less than 2 inches in height, the words "no trespassing" and in addition thereto the name of the owner, lessee, or occupant of said land. Said signs shall be placed along the boundary line of posted land in a manner and in such position as to be clearly noticeable from outside the boundary line. 810.09 Trespass on property OTHER THAN STRUCTURE or conveyance.-- (1)(a) A person who, without being authorized, licensed, or invited, willfully enters upon or remains in any property OTHER THAN A STRUCTURE or conveyance: 1. As to which notice against entering or remaining is given, either by actual communication to the offender or by posting, fencing, or cultivation as described in s. 810.011; or 2. If the property is the unenclosed curtilage of a dwelling and the offender enters or remains with the intent to commit an offense thereon, other than the offense of trespass, commits the offense of trespass on property other than a structure or conveyance. (b) As used in this section, the term "unenclosed curtilage" means the unenclosed land or grounds, and any outbuildings, that are directly and intimately adjacent to and connected with the dwelling and necessary, convenient, and habitually used in connection with that dwelling. (2)(a) Except as provided in this subsection, trespass on property other than a structure or conveyance is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (b) If the offender defies an order to leave, personally communicated to the offender by the owner of the premises or by an authorized person, or if the offender willfully opens any door, fence, or gate or does any act that exposes animals, crops, or other property to waste, destruction, or freedom; unlawfully dumps litter on property; or trespasses on property other than a structure or conveyance, the offender commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (c) If the offender is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon during the commission of the offense of trespass on property other than a structure or conveyance, he or she is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Any owner or person authorized by the owner may, for prosecution purposes, take into custody and detain, in a reasonable manner, for a reasonable length of time, any person when he or she reasonably believes that a violation of this paragraph has been or is being committed, and that the person to be taken into custody and detained has committed or is committing the violation. If a person is taken into custody, a law enforcement officer shall be called as soon as is practicable after the person has been taken into custody. The taking into custody and detention in compliance with the requirements of this paragraph does not result in criminal or civil liability for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention. (d) The offender commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if the property trespassed is a construction site that is legally posted and identified in substantially the following manner: "THIS AREA IS A DESIGNATED CONSTRUCTION SITE, AND ANYONE WHO TRESPASSES ON THIS PROPERTY COMMITS A FELONY."

I am not going to debate every uneducated comment that comes up on this forum, but some of these deserve a response. Exercising your constitutional rights is not attempting to gain the upper hand over a cop or playing hard ass. You can't outsmart them at their game no matter how smart you think you are. The best plan is to shut up. I didn't suggest being confrontational. In case I wasn't clear in the other post, NEVER confront a cop or refuse to comply with their orders. They can, and will, beat you down. That has nothing to do with giving no answer to questions, or asking for a lawyer, or saying no when asked for consent to search. The air delivery law charged here has been around for decades. It has held up in the ninth circuit, and the US Supreme Court denied certiorari (refused to hear the appeal). Notice that nobody is being charged with that new federal base jumping law? There is no reason for them to risk charging something new that has not yet withstood appellate review when the old one has. It doesn't matter how many laws they make. As long as you don't make incriminating statements, consent to searches, or give up evidence in some other way (like showing them where you hid the gear) you have the best chance of avoiding prosecution, hefty fines, probation, and a criminal record. lifewithoutanet, you have been reading too many comic books. Where do you get this battle/war nonsense? I don't see you offering to pay anyone's fines. I guess Tom dropped out before he took Crim. Pro. Go sit in at an arraignment or early resolution hearing (where you accept a plea bargain), it is open to the public. You will see that even the judge will explain your basic rights to you in case your lawyer forgot! Nobody but a cop will look down on someone for exercising those rights. Who cares what a cop thinks? I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. (This board software apparently condenses a double-space after a period into one space.)

>>I said, "yup", not wanting to say any more than I >> had to. He said, with a knowing smile, "where's >> your pack that you were hiking up the gulley with?" >>I knew at this point it was hopeless to argue and would >>only make matters worse if I tried to lie. You were partially right. Lying is stupid. But saying ANYTHING is stupid. You had no gear on you, and nobody saw your face when you jumped. They really had nothing on you at this point. Think about OJ. Yet you saw a cop and got scared out of your mind, and spilled your guts. You got charged with air delivery, right? So how could it have been any worse? It is so frustrating to see how stupid people are about this. The government has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you jumped. When you admit to doing it and give them the evidence, how hard is it going to be for them? If you had said NOTHING at all, not one word except maybe to identify yourself if asked, they would have a much tougher time proving you did anything. People have this stupid preconceived notion that if they are nice to the cops then they might be let go. That might be so, but it is damn rare if it is. But if you give them nothing to use against you, you win whether there was a chance they would let you go or not. I try to get this across to base jumpers all the time and they still can't seem to muster the courage to do it. How can you have the balls to jump from a fixed object but not have the guts to just shut the fuck up when someone wearing a uniform asks you stupid questions? If some crackhead off the street started pestering you, you would tell them to fuck off. A cop is no different. You don't owe them any more answer than you owe a random homeless beggar. >> There's one way out of the canyon and one road >>into and out of the park. I knew that I had to >>produce a pack and the only one I could produce >>had a parachute in it. The burden is on the government to produce that evidence, not on you. >>Three more Rangers showed up and there was one >>younger guy who seemed to be taking the whole >>thing personally and really wanted me to have an >>atitude so he could pull his pistol and shoot me, at >>least in the leg so I couldn't get away. There was a >>girl Ranger with him who was totally cool and not >>upset at all. She defused the whole situation with >>her cool attitude. Then the head Ranger showed up >>and he was totally cool too. Cops are trained in this. They are experts in manipulating people. Check out the movie Tango & Cash for some good cop/bad cop. If you cooperate with them, not by answering any questions but by standing where they want you to and not resisting, they probably won't shoot you. Also, don't consent to a search of any of your belongings or your person. Do not resist, but don't give consent. When they say something like, "Why can't we search it, do you have something to hide?", just repeat that you do not give consent. You don't have to answer that stupid question either. >>They seemed to really appreciate the fact that I just >>told the truth and wasn't trying to make up a big >>story that they wouldn't have believed anyway, due >>to the climbing ranger seeing three of us coming up >>the gulley with packs. Aren't you happy they appreciated you? Of course they are glad you gave it up and they didn't have to look like idiots. Imagine how stupid the cops would look if they sat there begging you to admit jumping and tell them where the gear was. There is no need to make up a story, and any story you give them will likely give probable cause to arrest you. So don't say anything. >>Marta and Jay showed up with their stash bags, I >>had called them on the radio, letting them know >>just to bring their packs up, we were seen with them >>coming up the gullley. How do you feel about ratting your friends out? I am to the point I would rather just jump by myself because you can't trust your friends not to cave in to cop pressure and turn you in. >>The head ranger wrote up the tickets and said to >>appear in Grand Junction on the date that would be >>assigned to us via mail. Now this is the cool part: >>He let us keep our cameras, helmets, shin guards >>and wingsuits. You get ALL your gear back if you win. You have no chance of winning now and will pay a huge fine. >>The reason that I post this is to let anyone thinking >>about jumping here to think twice and in >>comparison to other NP's, to show the >>professionalism of the Rangers who we dealt with. It appears that the difference between these rangers and those at the other park is that they let you keep some gear and didn't throw you in jail for a night or two. To me this difference does not justify paying that massive fine, being on probation for a year, and possibly not getting the rest of the gear back. If you had not given them probable cause to arrest you in the first place, then the difference in rangers means nothing. I know this post is very harsh and I feel really bad for the people busted. I just hope to make an impression on anyone else that might read this so they might make better decisions if they end up in the same situation. Just like anything, the key is to practice. Have some buddies play good cop/bad cop on you. Imagine how you are going to act when cops are threatening you. By the way, cops are allowed to lie about most things as part of an interrogation... I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Speak to a lawyer who is licensed to practice in your state (or in fed court as is the case here).