ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE

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To prove you guilty of PC 459, Burglary, the DA must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

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You entered a building (or a room within a building or a locked vehicle or structure)

When you entered, you intended to commit a theft or any kind of felony.

 

Next, depending on what kind of burglary, there can be additional elements to prove.

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UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS

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By default, if you’re guilty of burglary, it’s burglary of the second degree. If you enter an occupied residential property, that bumps your offense up to a first degree burglary, which is a “strike” offense.

 

The DA has to prove that you entered with the intent to commit any kind of theft, even if it was a really minor misdemeanor theft amount. 

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Alternatively, you’re guilty of the DA can show you were entering the structure to commit any kind of a felony (theft-related or not).

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What if you didn’t commit the offense once you entered?

It doesn’t matter. That’s not a valid defense.  The DA doesn’t need to prove you actually committed offense as long it’s clear you entered with the intent to do so. 

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What counts as entering?

Under the law of burglary, a person enters a building if some part of your body or some object under your control (e.g., a bag) penetrates the area inside the building’s outer boundary. A building’s outer boundary includes the area inside a window screen.

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What about a balcony?

An attached balcony designed to be entered only from inside of a private, residential apartment on the second or higher floor of a building is inside a building’s outer boundary.

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Does a jury have to unanimously agree on which crime you intended to commit prior to entering?

No, but all 12 jurors must at least unanimously agree that you intended to commit a theft or a actual felony at the time of the entry.

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