Criminal Law of Burglary
Instructions:
How has the definition of burglary changed from the old common law definition? Analyze the crime of burglary, including the actus reus and mens rea of burglary. Also provide a hypothetical example of a modern-day burglary.
Criminal Law of Burglary
Crimes under the common law are defined by the statutory or otherwise the judicially-created criteria which are known as “elements” of the crime. These elements of the crime can be illustrated in the context of a crime element formula which designates the corpus delicti of the crime under investigation. Under the common law, burglary is defined as breaking and entering of the dwelling of another in the night with the intent to commit a felony therein. In the context of this common law, the crime required two distinct purposes. The initial purpose is to break and enter and the further intended purpose is to commit a crime; for example theft(Samaha, 2002).
To put this into perspective, burglary under the common law implied that this type of crime required both the projections to commit the prohibited action and a further purpose on the same, it has to be a unique intent crime. Suppose, however, the defendant of the crime had only the intention to break and enter for example to warm himself when he was cold. In this instance, the defendant would likely be charged with the guilt of criminal trespass, a general perspective of the intent crime because it requires only the purpose to execute the prohibited act which is breaking and entering (Storey & Lidbury, 2009).
The evolution of the common law in relation to burglary has been perceived as the first type of specific intent offense. Actus reus of the offense is done when breaks and enters the dwelling house at nighttime. The criminal will possess the requisite mens rea if he commits the actus reus with the purpose to commit a crime after he gets inside. Hence the current law implies that the burglary is complete whether or not the in the dwelling crime took place which exempts the commission as not part of the actus reus. Thus, the required mental state pertains to be an organized future act that is not often the part if the social harm proscribed by the actual burglary.
References
Samaha, J. (2002). Criminal law. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Storey, T. & Lidbury, A. (2009). Criminal law. Cullompton, Devon, UK: Willan.