What is Burglary?
Burglary is defined as the breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein. The question will often tell you that the jurisdiction has expanded the crime of burglary to include other types of buildings (such as offices or stores), or all buildings.
Timing of Intent
When it comes to the intent required for burglary, whether the individual intends to commit a felony once inside at the moment of the breaking and entering is what matters.
Example 1: I break into a friend’s house with the intention of stealing his Taylor Swift poster (shown below). The moment the breaking and entering occurs (let’s say I climb through his window), the crime of burglary is complete. At this point I am already guilty of burglary regardless of what ensues. At the moment of the breaking and entering (as soon as I climbed through my friend’s window) I had the intent to commit larceny once inside (taking the Taylor Swift poster). I do not actually have to end up taking the Taylor Swift poster to be guilty of burglary because the crime of burglary has already occurred.
If I do take the Taylor Swift poster once I’m inside the house , I will be guilty of burglary and also larceny. However, if I decide to not take the Taylor Swift poster (it is a rather cruel thing to do), I will be guilty of just burglary alone.
On the other hand, the crime of burglary CANNOT occur if there was no intent to commit a felony once inside at the time of the breaking and entering (even if a felony does end up being committed once inside).
Example 2: I break into my friend’s house by climbing through his window, intending to take a nap on his couch. At the moment I climbed through his window (the moment of the breaking and entering) I only intended to take a nap on his couch (which is not a felony thankfully). Therefore I cannot be guilty of burglary, regardless of what ensues. If once inside I see my friend’s Taylor Swift poster and decide to take it and leave, I will be guilty of just larceny. If once inside I just take a nap on his couch and then leave I will be guilty of no crime. Either way, the crime of burglary did not occur (and never could have) because I did not intend to commit a felony once inside at the moment I broke into his house.
On an MBE question about the crime of burglary, always remember to focus on what the person intended to do once inside at the time of the breaking and entering.
What Constitutes Breaking and Entering?
Any opening or enlargement of a part of the building will be considered a breaking and entering. The fact pattern might tell you that the person opened an unlocked door, or further opened a door or window that was already a little bit open in order to get inside. These are all considered breaking and entering. The fact that the door was unlocked or the door or window was already slightly open is irrelevant because the person opened (or further opened) it to enter the structure. Furthermore, a breaking and entering does not necessarily require the person to actually do the act himself. It can also occur by threatening or deceiving another individual.
Example: I intend to break into my friend’s house to steal his Taylor Swift poster. I tell his neighbor, who has a spare key, that I have permission to enter his house. The neighbor unlocks the front door and lets me into the house. This is a breaking and entering by me even though I did not actually open the front door myself.
Do not necessarily assume that a breaking and entering did not occur just because the fact pattern tells you that the individual did not physically do it himself.
What To Understand
- Burglary is defined as the breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein.
- The crime of burglary requires the intent to commit a felony once inside at the moment of the breaking and entering.
- If there was the intent to commit a felony once inside at the time of the breaking and entering, the crime of burglary is complete. It has already occurred. Now it’s just a matter of whether the person has committed burglary as well as an additional crime (or crimes), or just burglary alone.
- If there was no intent to commit a felony once inside at the time of the breaking and entering, then the crime of burglary has not occurred, and cannot occur (regardless of what happens from that point forward). Now it’s just a matter of whether the person has committed some other crime (or crimes), or no crime at all.
- Any opening or enlargement of a part of the building will be considered breaking and entering. This is true whether the perpetrator does it himself or has someone else do it through intimidation or deception.
Please feel free, as always, to leave a comment if you have any thoughts or questions, and best of luck 🙂