Adverse Possession

Squatting falls under the legal terminology of Adverse Possession, and Take Back the Land has been doing just that in Florida. They have had several successful "squats" so far and are working on others.

As Wendy mentioned, her group OCAP had a similar campaign called Use It Or Lose It. From what I read they had some serious demonstrations

For those who are dead serious and ready to make some moves you can find a practical guide here. Even in the details of sleeping and watch shifts, garbage detail and highly technical electrical work, the idea of group and community organization is prevalent.

Michigan law specifically states:

"The elements of Adverse possession in Michigan are: actual, visible, open, notorious, exclusive and uninterrupted possession of the property that was hostile to the owner and under cover of a claim of right for a fifteen year period. " Rozmarek v Plamondon

It seems American exceptionalism has again led us to become foreign to the idea of squatting as there have been numerous movements throughout global squatting history. Squatting laws in the US are mostly relevant in the major cities, but we have had relatively small and short lived movements. I would assume that US state law lacks the precedents and is steeped in the capitalist's notion of private property. Nonetheless as you can see throughout history serious squatter movements were not necessarily concerned with the law.