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Pros And Cons Of Burglary

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is fenced in, any other structure inside the fence is considered an extension of the dwelling, even if those buildings are not used as living quarters. If there is, for example, a farmhouse, a barn, and a tool shed that all sit within one large fence, the barn and the tool shed are considered part of the dwelling even though they are not used as living quarters and, if a defendant breaks and enters into the barn or the tool shed with the intent of committing a felony, he can be convicted of burglary.

Also please note that if a defendant enters a dwelling without breaking, but, once inside, breaks into a closed part of the dwelling, he can be convicted of burglary. However, the part of the building that he breaks into must actually be a part …show more content…

George walks into the house to say hello to Al. It appears that Al is not home so George takes the opportunity to look around and see if there is anything in Al’s house that might be worth stealing. George opens up a closet door and inside finds a brand new Brooks Bros. suit that looks to be about George’s size. George takes the suit and goes home with it. In this situation George can be convicted of burglary. Even though George did not commit an act of breaking in order to gain entry into Al’s house, and even though George did not intend to commit a felony when he entered Al’s house, he did break and enter a closed part of Al’s house; the closet; with the intent of committing a felony. Therefore, George can be convicted of …show more content…

In such cases, one party’s breaking and entering into the other party’s living space at night with the intent of committing a felony will constitute burglary.

Many jurisdictions have also eliminated the element of "dwelling" from the burglary definition and consider burglary the entering onto any premises with the intent to commit a felony therein.

As we have said, the breaking and entering must be done at night in order to qualify as burglary. However, the breaking and entering do not have to be done on the same night. That is to say, the defendant can create the opening in the dwelling on one night and then use that opening to gain entry on another night. Please remember, however, that, as we said before, there must be a causal relationship between the breaking and entering so that, even though the breaking and entering can occur on different nights, the breaking must be the means that the defendant uses to gain access to the dwelling.

Many jurisdictions have also eliminated the element of "night" from the burglary definition and consider burglary the entering onto any premises at any time with the intent to commit a felony

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