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Burglary defenses include objections to police procedures, challenges to identity proof, and specific defenses such as denying intent to commit a crime upon entering a building. The traditional definition of burglary has evolved to include any time of day and any type of building. The key element is entering a building with the intent to commit a crime. Specific theft defenses may deny elements of the crime, but some traditional defenses are no longer applicable. Proving no entry or no intent to commit a crime are valid defenses, and severity of the charge can be reduced by proving minimal property value or uninhabited buildings.
A good burglary defense will include some defenses that apply to all criminal charges and others specific to the crime of burglary. As with any crime, the defendant may object to police procedures being followed, such as conducting an unlawful search of the defendant’s person and property. The defense could also challenge proof of the defendant’s identity. Then there are defenses specific to burglary, the most important of which is the challenge of the claim that the defendant entered a building with the intention of committing a crime.
The traditional common law definition of burglary required the defendant to break and enter another’s home during the night with intent to commit a felony, but many parts of this definition are no longer required in most jurisdictions . First, a burglary is no longer limited to the night and can happen at any time of day. Secondly, the definition is no longer restricted to dwellings and can also apply to buildings where nobody lives. Finally, it is no longer necessary to break into premises, and most jurisdictions consider it burglary to enter a building with the intent to commit a crime, even if the defendant is invited to enter.
The key elements of burglary that remain in all jurisdictions are entering a building with the intent to commit a crime. Typically, a thief intends to steal something, but it is also burglary to enter a building with the intent to commit another crime, such as assaulting and injuring someone inside. The crime of burglary does not require the intended crime to be successfully completed.
A specific theft defense will attempt to deny, or exclude, one of the elements of the crime. In traditional customary law, it was a defense to say that the structure was not a dwelling but was uninhabited. It was also a defense to state that the entry did not take place at night. The defendant could also raise the defense that the person in the dwelling invited the defendant to enter. These particular defenses, however, are not available under the broader definition of burglary more common today.
Even under the modern definition, however, proving that the defendant did not actually enter the premises constitutes a defense against burglary. Another burglary defense is to prove that the defendant had no intention of committing a crime when he entered. Also, most jurisdictions still punish burglary at night and in a dwelling more severely, so it is a defense against a more serious form of burglary to argue that entry occurred at a time of day in that it was not dark or that the building was uninhabited. It also reduces the severity of the charge to prove that the property value of the stolen items was minimal.
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