Also known as: burglaries · burglar · burglars · burglarize · burglarized · burglarizing · burglarizes · burgle · burgled · burgling · burgles · burgator · burglarious
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal offense consisting of the unlawful entry of a dwelling or occupied structure with the purpose to commit a crime inside. At common law the offense requires a breaking and entry of the dwelling of another at night with intent to commit a felony. Under the Model Penal Code the offense requires entry of a building or occupied structure with purpose to commit a crime unless the premises are open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter.
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Brooke Bryant waited until after dark when facial features could no longer be discerned by natural light before she climbed through the window of a house occupied by tenants. She intended to steal valuables once inside. Because the entry occurred at nighttime the conduct satisfied the common-law timing element for burglary.
Bianca Baker entered the public lobby of an office building during business hours then forced open a locked claims storage room marked for authorized personnel only. She intended to destroy documents inside the room. The entry into the separately secured portion with criminal purpose satisfied the Model Penal Code burglary definition.
Bradley Banks remained inside a clinic after his shift and later pried open an interior door solely to exit with stolen narcotics. The force was applied only after he was already inside the structure. Because the breaking did not facilitate entry the conduct failed to satisfy the common-law breaking element.
Barbara Bennett entered a residence at night with intent to commit theft and during the course of the offense recklessly caused serious injury to an occupant. The reckless infliction of injury during the burglary elevated the grading under the Model Penal Code.
Bei Bai owned a brownstone but tenants regularly slept on the upper floors. She entered the upper floors at night intending to commit a felony inside. Because the structure served as a dwelling for someone other than the owner the occupancy element was satisfied.
Boubacar Bah entered an occupied apartment at night with purpose to commit theft and was armed with a deadly weapon. The combination of nighttime entry into a dwelling and possession of a weapon made the offense a felony of the second degree under the Model Penal Code.
No. The offense is complete once the defendant enters the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony. Actual completion of the felony is not required.
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Timing matters only for the second-degree grading enhancement. Burglary becomes a felony of the second degree if perpetrated in the dwelling of another at night or if the actor inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily injury or is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon.
…three capital murder charges. In the plea colloquy, respondent told the trial judge that, although he had committed a string of burglaries, he had no significant prior criminal record and that at the time of his criminal spree he was under extreme stress caused by his inability to support his family. The trial judge told…
…set forth in the indictment." 50 Mass., at 137. Two years after Hope , the court elaborated on this rule in a case involving burglary, stating that if "certain acts are, by force of the statutes, made punishable with greater severity, when accompanied with aggravating circumstances," then the statute has "creat[ed] two…
…C. J., and Rehnquist, J., joined. Syllabus Petitioner was indicted in Kentucky state court on charges of second-degree burglary and receipt of stolen goods. During jury selection at his trial, the judge conducted voir dire and excused certain jurors for cause. The prosecutor then used peremptory challenges to strike…
…and his third-offense drunken driving posed real risk of serious harm to others. It is sheer fortuity that the places respondent burglarized were unoccupied and that he killed no pedestrians while behind the wheel. What would have happened if a guard had been on duty during the
…of police action. The officer pursued a suspect in the darkened backyard of a house that from all indications had just been burglarized. The police officer was not certain whether the suspect was alone or unarmed; nor did he know what had transpired inside the house. He ordered the suspect to halt, and when the suspect…
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Yes under common law. Occupancy rather than ownership determines whether the dwelling is that of another. An owner can therefore commit burglary of the owner’s own building if tenants occupy it and use it as their dwelling.
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No. The breaking must facilitate the defendant’s entry into the dwelling. A breaking used solely to exit after the defendant has already entered does not constitute burglary.
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No. The defendant must intend to commit a felony at the moment of entry. Intent formed only after entry means the crime of burglary is not completed.
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