Tales Of The Riverbank, Part 1

Under California law, a navigable stream (including the bank below the high water mark) may be used by the public for "boating, swimming, fishing, hunting and all recreational purposes." People ex rel. Baker v. Mack (1971) 19 Cal.App.3d 1040, 1045 (emphasis added).

Does that mean it's okay for a homeless person to pitch a tent for the night on the bank of any navigable stream? Find out this week when Mr. H goes to trial (again) for "unlawful lodging," this time on the bank of the Tuolumne River under the Ninth Street Bridge in Modesto. (Mr. H tells me that the catfish from the river make a tasty supper, by the way.)

Also to be learned during the same trial--can an "unlawful lodger" still raise a necessity defense when there was room at the Modesto Gospel Mission (an establishment that requires participation in prayer as a condition of accommodation)?