THE PEOPLE, Plаintiff and Respondent, v. CUAHUTEMOC SANCHEZ VALENCIA, Defendant and Appellant.
No. S095385
Supreme Court of California
June 3, 2002
28 Cal. 4th 1
COUNSEL
John T. Philipsborn and Cliff Gardner for California Attorneys for Criminal Justice as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, David P. Druliner and Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Megan J. Beale, Racquel M. Gonzalez, Crystal L. Bradley, Peter Quon, Jr., and Quisteen S. Shum, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINION
GEORGE, C. J.—Under California law, the crime of burglary is committed when a person “enters any . . . building,” including a “house,” “with intent to commit . . . larceny or any felony.” (
We granted review to determine whether penetration into the area behind a window screen amounts to an entry of a building within the meaning of the
burglary statute when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated. As we shall explain, we conclude that it does. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which held to the contrary.
I
The evidence presented at defendant’s trial for the crime of burglary, viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment, reveals the following facts pertinent to the issue before us:
On the morning of February 4, 1998, Lee Florea left the house he shared with his wife and children in Santa Ana to go to work, with the doors and windows locked and the window screens secured in their tracks in front of the windows.
About noon, Nicky Nava, who lived across the street from the Floreas, came home for lunch. Looking out through a screen door, Nava saw a person later identified as defendant. As she watched, defendant, who apparently had a screwdriver in his hand, removed a window screen from a bathroom window of the Floreas’ house and tried unsuccessfully to open the window itself. Evidently, defendant earlier had pulled a window screen away from a bedroom window of the Floreas’ house and had tried unsuccessfully to open that window as well.
Nava called the Santa Ana Police Department and described defendant and his activities. As she continued to watch, moving at some point up to her screen door and then outside, defendant walked from the bathroom window of the Floreas’ house and tried unsuccessfully to open the front door. Apparently in anger or frustration, defendant banged on the wall and then sat down for a few minutes. Defendant then got into an automobile, which resembled a gray or brown Monte Carlo or LTD, drove down the street about four houses away, parked, and got out.
anything wrong, and that he merely had been looking for a friend, whom he now called “Tony,” to help in locating a stolen bicycle.
Going to the Floreas’ house, Officer Douthit found what appeared to be rub marks on the bathroom window that could have been made by defendant’s hand or hands as he tried to open the window. Douthit also found several pry marks on the frame of the bedroom window that could have been made by defendant’s screwdriver. Florea returned to his house about this time, finding the scene as described above. Douthit later determined that defendant did indeed оwn the automobile he had denied owning.
After the presentation of evidence, the trial court instructed the jury on the offense of burglary. At the People’s request, and over defendant’s objection, the court gave the following instruction, drawn directly from People v. Nible (1988) 200 Cal.App.3d 838 [247 Cal.Rptr. 396] (Nible) and indirectly from People v. Ravenscroft (1988) 198 Cal.App.3d 639 [243 Cal.Rptr. 827] (Ravenscroft): “Any kind of entry, partial or complete, will satisfy the element of entry. The entry may be made by any part of the body or by use of an instrument or tool. In order for there to have been an entry, a part of the defendant’s body or some instrument, tool or other object under his control must have penetrated the area inside where the screen was normally affixed in the window frame in question.” (Italics added.) The court refused to give the following instruction, based upon language from Nible, which defendant requested and the People objected to: “The test of whether an entry has occurred is whether a reasonable person would believe a window screen provides some protеction against unauthorized intrusions.”
The jury returned a verdict finding defendant guilty of burglary and determining that the burglary was of the first degree because it involved an inhabited dwelling house (
On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that penetration into the area behind a window screen does not amount to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, at least when, as in this case, the window itself is closed and is not penetrated.
People. The Court of Appeal also concluded that the trial court did not err by refusing to instruct as requested by defendant. The Court of Appeal went on to determine that, “[a]s a matter of law,” defendant “was guilty only of attempted [first degree] burglary.” As a consequence, the Court of Appеal reversed defendant’s conviction and sentence for first degree burglary and remanded the cause to the trial court with directions to enter a conviction for attempted first degree burglary and to impose sentence accordingly.
We granted the People’s petition for review in order to consider the validity of the Court of Appeal’s holding. As stated above, we reach a conclusion contrary to that reached by the Court of Appeal and therefore reverse the judgment rendered by that court.
II
The crime of burglary is committed when a person “enters any . . . building,” including a “house,” “with intent to commit . . . larceny or any felony.” (
The issue before us is whether penetration into the area behind a window screen amounts to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated. As we shall explain, we сonclude that it does.
In People v. Davis (1998) 18 Cal.4th 712 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 770, 958 P.2d 1083] (Davis), we recently had occasion to discuss the offense of burglary,
including consideration of its historical background and its general contours today. Our discussion provides a useful starting point for addressing the rather narrow question presented in this case.
In Davis, we explained that “[t]he interest sought to be protected by the common law crime of burglary was clear. At common law, burglary was the breaking and entering of a dwelling in the nighttime. The law was intended to protect the sanctity of a person’s home during the night hours when the resident was most vulnerable.
We went on to explain in Davis that, “[i]n California, as in other states, the scope of the burglary law has been greatly expanded. There is no requirement of a breaking; an entry alone is sufficient. The crime is not limited to dwellings, but includes entry into a wide variety of structures. The crime need not be committed at night.” (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at pp. 720-721.)
Nonetheless, as we added in Davis, the great expansion in the scope of the burglary law has not been unlimited. “In People v. Gauze (1975) 15 Cal.3d 709 [125 Cal.Rptr. 773, 542 P.2d 1365], we . . . observed that ‘[a] burglary remains an entry which invades a possessory interest in a building.’ [Citation.] . . . ‘Burglary laws are based primarily upon a recognition of the dangers to personal safety created by the usual burglary situation—the danger that the intruder will harm the occupants in attempting to perpetrate the intended crime or to escape and the danger that the occupants will in anger or panic react violently to the invasion, thereby inviting more violence. The laws are primarily designed, then, not to deter the trespass and the intended crime, which are prohibited by other laws, so much as to forestall the germination of a situation dangerous to personal safety.’ [The burglary statute], in short, is aimed at the danger caused by the unauthorized entry itself.” (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 721.)
In Davis, we further proceeded to note and approve the rule reflected in People v. Moore (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 489 [37 Cal.Rptr.2d 104], People v.
Walters (1967) 249 Cal.App.2d 547 [57 Cal.Rptr. 484], and People v. Osegueda (1984) 163 Cal.App.3d Supp. 25 [210 Cal.Rptr. 182], that entry may be effected by the intruder or by an instrument employed by the intruder, whether used “solely to effect entry, or to accomplish the intended larceny or felony as well.” (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 717.)
Accordingly, resolution of the question before us does not depend upon whether penetration into the area bеhind a window screen is effected by the intruder or by an instrument employed by the intruder. Rather, it turns solely upon whether any such penetration amounts to an entry of a building.
In approaching this question, the People and defendant place considerable reliance, as did the Court of Appeal, on two Court of Appeal decisions—Ravenscroft and Nible—that preceded our decision in Davis.
In Ravenscroft, the Court of Appeal held that a defendant’s insertion of an automatic teller machine (ATM) card into an ATM that was mounted inside a bank and was secured flush with the bank’s exterior wall amounted to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, because the ATM was part of the bank’s outer boundary for purposes of burglary.
In Nible—which is the California case whose facts are closest to ours, and which we accordingly discuss at some length—the Court of Appeal held that a defendant’s penetration into the area behind a window screen amounted to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, because the window screen was part of the building’s outer boundary for purposes of burglary.
In support of its holding, the Court of Appeal in Nible explained: “No California authority has considered whether the penetration of a window
screen, without penetration of . . . the window beyond, constitutes an entry within the meaning of [the burglary statute]. Defendant contends the correct analysis to determine whether a burglarious entry has occurred is whether the ‘air space’ of a protected structure has been penetrated by a part of the defendant’s body or an instrument or tool wielded by him. (See People v. Ravenscroft (1988) 198 Cal.App.3d 639, 643-644 . . . .) The ‘air space’ analysis of Ravenscroft . . . does not necessarily lead to the result defendant suggests. Rather, it is reasonable to conclude that a window screen contains the outer boundary of a building’s air space, especially when, as here, the window itself was left open. However it might be applied here, in our view the ‘air space’ test, although useful in some situations, is inadequate as a comprehensive test for determining when a burglarious entry occurs.” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at pp. 843-844, fn. omitted.)
The Court of Appeal in Nible went on to state that “a more comprehensive test is suggested by the California Supreme Court’s analysis” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 844) in People v. Gauze, supra, 15 Cal.3d 709, which we have quoted above.
Moving beyond our discussion in Gauze, the Court of Appeal in Nible rеasoned: “As the burglary statute is designed to protect against unauthorized entry and its attendant dangers, the ultimate test of whether a burglarious entry has occurred must focus on the protection the owners or inhabitants of a structure reasonably expect. The proper question is whether the nature of a structure’s composition is such that a reasonable person would expect some protection from unauthorized intrusions. A structure with a locked door or window clearly affords a reasonable expectation of protection from invasion. But even an open door or window affords some expectation of protection from unauthorized intrusion because reasonable persons understand the social convention that portals may not be crossed without permission from the structure’s owner.” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 844.)
“Thus,” stated the Court of Appeal in Nible, “the focus of the question whether the penetration of a window screen constitutes a burglаrious entry must be on whether a reasonable person would believe a window screen provides some protection against unauthorized intrusions. The answer is unequivocally in the affirmative. ‘The opening of a screen door or window is deemed a burglarious breaking, . . . In such cases the screen door [or window] is not to be considered as a mere protection against flies, but rather as a permanent part of the dwelling. The holdings proceed, it would seem, on the grounds that the screen door [or window] is a part of the house on which the occupants rely for protection and that to open such a door [or window] is a violation of the security of the dwelling house which is the peculiar
gravamen of a burglarious breaking.’ . . .” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 845.)
The Court of Appeal in Nible concluded: “The purposes of the burglary laws are best served by our holding the penetration of a window screen constitutes entry within the meaning of [the burglary statute]. As noted above, the burglary law protects against the dangers caused by unauthorized entry. The inhabitants of a building are just as likely to react violently to an intruder’s penetration of their window screen as to the penetration of the window itself.” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 845.)
In Davis, subsequent to the Court of Appeal decisions in Ravenscroft and Nible, we faced the question whether a defendant’s placing of a forged check into a chute in a walk-up window at a check-cashing facility amounted to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute. We held that it did not. In so holding, we accepted that the chute was part of the building’s outer boundary for purposes of burglary. We reasoned, however, that although the placing of the forged check into the chute effected a type of entry, it was not “the type of entry the burglary statute was intended to prevent.” (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 720, italics added.) In support, we stated that the act did not “violate[] the occupant‘s possessory interest in the building” (id. at p. 722) or threaten “‘the germination of a situation dangerous to personal safety‘” (id. at p. 721).
In the course of our discussion in Davis, we “disapprove[d]” Ravenscroft to the extent it held that a defendant’s insertion of an ATM card into an ATM in a bank amounted to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute. (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 722, fn. 5.) At the same time, however, we added that we did “not disapprove the other aspects of . . . Ravenscroft, including its conclusion that the ATM card in that case was inserted into the air space of the ATM,” and on this point we inserted a citation to Nible. (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 722, fn. 5.)
As we have seen, the Court of Appeal in Nible found in Ravenscroft what it called a sometimes “useful,” but sometimes “inadequate,” “‘air space’ test.” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 844.) The Court of Appeal in Nible proposed as “more comprehensive” a “reasonable belief” or “reasonable expectation” test. (Id. at p. 844; see id. at pp. 844-845 & fn. 4.)
Like the Court of Appeal in Nible, we have misgivings about the general usefulness of an airspace test to define the outer boundary of a building for purposes of burglary. An airspace test, to be sure, may be helpful when the question is whether there is the “slightest partial entry” of a building
(Ravenscroft, supra, 198 Cal.App.3d at p. 643), as when an intruder simply lowers a rope into a building through a rooftop vent (see People v. Walters, supra, 249 Cal.App.2d at p. 550) or saws a hole through the wall of a building (see People v. Osegueda, supra, 163 Cal.App.3d at pp. Supp. 31-32). But an airspace test does not help define the outer boundary of a building when that boundary is not otherwise established. The airspace of a building is not independent of the outer boundary of a building; rather, the airspace of a building simply is that which is surrounded by the building’s outer boundary. (See People v. Elsey (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 948, 963, fn. 7 [97 Cal.Rptr.2d 269].)
In most instances, of course, the outer boundary of a building for purposes of burglary is self-evident. Thus, in general, the roof, walls, doors, and windows constitute parts of a building’s outer boundary, the penetration of which is sufficient for entry.
In other instances, in which the outer boundary of a building for purposes of burglary is not self-evident, we believe that a reasonable belief test generally may be useful in defining the building’s outer boundary. Under such a test, in dealing with items such as a window screen, a building’s outer boundary includes any element that encloses an area into which a reasonable person would believe that a member of the general public could not pass without authorization. Thus, whereas decisions treat an “ordinary, unenclosed front porch” оf a house (People v. Brown (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1489, 1497 [8 Cal.Rptr.2d 513] [construing
We note that, at one point in its discussion, the Court of Appeal in Nible employed language that might be understood to cast the reasonable belief
test in terms of “whether a reasonable person would believe” that any given element of a building “provides some [physical] protection against unauthorized intrusions.” (Nible, supra, 200 Cal.App.3d at p. 845.) The latter quoted language might be appropriate if the offense of burglary continued to require unlawful breaking as well as entering. In that event, an element of a building would have to be something that could protect against breach. But, as we have stated most recently in Davis, burglary now entails only unlawful entry. (Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 722.) In light of that circumstance, we believe that the test properly is phrased in terms of whether a reasonable person would believe that the element of the building in question enclosed an area into which a member of the general public could not pass without authorization. Indeed, as so phrased the test is not inconsistent with what the Court of Appeal in Nible seems to have had in mind. As we have noted, that court stated that “even an open door or windоw affords some expectation of protection from unauthorized intrusion because reasonable persons
Under the reasonable belief test as set forth above, we are of the view that a window screen is clearly part of the outer boundary of a building for
We recognize that penetration into the area behind a window screen without penetration of the window itself usually will effect only a minimal
entry of a building in terms of distance. But it has long been settled that “[a]ny kind of entry, complete or partial, . . . will” suffice. (2 Witkin & Epstein, Cal. Criminal Law (3d ed. 2000) Crimes
In view of the foregoing, we conclude that penetration into the area behind a window screen amounts to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute even when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated.6
on whether the chute in the check-cashing facility’s walk-up window was part of the building’s outer boundary for purposes of burglary, but rather on whether the placing of the forged check into the chute effected the type of entry that the burglary statute was intended to prevent. In particular, we did not purport to adopt an airspace test as the standard for defining a building’s outer boundary. When we referred to a building’s airspace, we did so simply to denote what was inside what we accepted as the building’s outer boundary. (See Davis, supra, 18 Cal.4th at pp. 719, 722, fn. 5.)
Further, the Court of Appeal reasoned that penetration into the area behind a window screen without penetration of the window itself does not amount to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, because such penetration does not reach inside some inner part of the premises or because the area penetrated is too “minuscule.” But, as we have stated, all that is needed is entry “inside the premisеs.” (People v. Failla, supra, 64 Cal.2d at p. 569.) Because we have concluded that a window screen is part of the outer boundary of a building for purposes of burglary, it follows that
the area behind the window screen is inside the premises. Entry that is just barely inside the premises, even if the area penetrated is small, is sufficient.
Defendant presents several arguments in support of his position, but we find none persuasive. In addition to relying on an airspace test and the Court of Appeal’s reasoning, which we already have discussed and rejected, defendant claims that the reasonable belief test is unacceptably vague and indeterminate. He urges that instead we should adopt some sort of bright-line rule. In our view, however, the reasonable belief test is well suited to define the outer boundary of a building for purposes of burglary and, in application, operates as a kind of bright-line rule with respect to any given element of a building. Contrary to defendant’s implication, the test dоes not leave it to the trier of fact in an individual case to find whether or not a window screen is part of the outer boundary of a building. Instead, applying the reasonable belief test, we ourselves have concluded that a window screen is part of a building’s outer boundary and, hence, that
III
We now review the Court of Appeal’s decision in light of our conclusion.
As noted, the Court of Appeal held that penetration into the area behind a window screen does not amount to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, at least when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated. The Court of Appeal therefore concluded that the trial court had erred by instructing the jury, at the People’s request, that “[i]n order for there to have been an entry, a part of the defеndant’s body or some instrument, tool or other object under his control must have penetrated the area inside where the screen was normally affixed in the window frame in question.” The Court of Appeal also concluded that the trial court had not erred by refusing to instruct the jury, at defendant’s request, that “[t]he test of whether an entry has occurred is whether a reasonable person would believe a window screen provides some protection against unauthorized intrusions.”
In view of our conclusion that penetration into the area behind a window
In contrast, we agree with the Court of Appeal that the instruction requested by defendant was erroneous. Whether penetration into the area behind a window screen amounts to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute is a question of law and not a question of fact. A trial court’s instructions must resolve such a legal issue for the jury, and may not invite the jury to resolve the question for itself.
Finally, based on its holding that penetration into the area behind a window screen does not amount to an entry of a building within the meaning of the burglary statute, at least when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated, the Court of Appeal determined that, “[a]s a matter of law” defendant “was guilty only of attempted [first degree] burglary,” and reversed defendant’s conviction and sentence for first degree burglary, remanding the cause to the trial court with directions to enter a сonviction for
attempted first degree burglary and to impose sentence accordingly. Because we have determined that even when the window itself is closed and is not penetrated, penetration of a window screen amounts to an entry of a building, we conclude that the Court of Appeal erred in reversing defendant’s conviction and sentence on this ground.
IV
For the reasons stated above, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Baxter, J., Werdegar, J., Chin, J., Brown, J., and Moreno, J., concurred.
KENNARD, J., Dissenting.—Under California law, one who “enters” a building with the intent to commit theft or a felony is guilty of burglary. (
I
I begin with these basic rules of statutory construction, which the majority conveniently ignores. “‘In construing statutes, we must determine and effectuate legislative intent.’ (Woods v. Young (1991) 53 Cal.3d 315, 323 [279 Cal.Rptr. 613, 807 P.2d 455].) ‘To ascertain intent, we look first to the words of the statutes’ (ibid.), ‘giving them their usual and ordinary meaning.’ (Da-Fonte v. Up-Right, Inc. (1992) 2 Cal.4th 593, 601 [7 Cal.Rptr.2d 238, 828 P.2d 140].)” ( Lennane v. Franchise Tax Bd. (1994) 9 Cal.4th 263, 268 [36 Cal.Rptr.2d 563, 885 P.2d 976].) Thus, any attempt here to determine whether defendant’s conduct satisfied the statutory definition of the crime of burglary should begin with the usual and ordinary meaning of the crucial term “enters.”
One widely used dictionary gives this pertinent definition of the word “enter“: “To come or go into a place, building, room, etc. . . .” (5 Oxford
English Dict. (2d ed. 1989) p. 288.) Another states, more simply, “To come or go into.” (American Heritage Dict. (4th ed. 2000) p. 595.) Similarly, a respected legal dictionary defines “entry,” as used in criminal law, as “[t]he unlawful coming into a building to commit a crime.” (Black‘s Lаw Dict. (7th ed. 1999) p. 554, italics added.)
At common law, the entry requirement for burglary was construed consistently with these dictionary definitions. For example, in Reg. v. Meal (1848) 3 Cox C.C. 70, the defendant cut a hole in a window large enough for him to climb through. In ordering him acquitted of burglary, the British court explained that “the mere circumstance that the glass was broken, and the window cut to an extent large enough to admit a man‘s head and shoulders, was not enough to constitute an actual entry without positive proof that a portion of the body was within the house.” (Id. at p. 71.)
The idea that one “enters” a building by going inside it is consistent with the Legislature’s purpose in requiring an entry as an element of the crime of burglary. The Legislature recognized that a prowler or trespasser looking for items to steal outside a building does not pose the same risk to the building’s occupants as does a person who goes inside a building, particularly a home, with the requisite intent. As this court has explained: “‘Burglary laws are based primarily upon a recognition of the dangers tо personal safety created by the usual burglary situation—the danger that the intruder will harm the occupants in attempting to perpetrate the intended crime or to escape and the danger that the occupants will in anger or panic react violently to the invasion, thereby inviting more violence. The laws are primarily designed, then, not to deter the trespass and the intended crime, which are prohibited by other laws, so much as to forestall the germination of a situation dangerous to personal safety.‘” (People v. Gauze (1975) 15 Cal.3d 709, 715 [125 Cal.Rptr. 773, 542 P.2d 1365]; see also People v. Wilson (1969) 1 Cal.3d 431, 440 [82 Cal.Rptr. 494, 462 P.2d 22] [“We have often recognized that persons within dwellings are in greater peril from intruders bent on stealing or engaging in other felonious conduct. . . . Persons within dwellings are more likely to resist and less likely to be able to avoid the consequences of crimes committed inside their homes.“]; Model Pen. Code & Commentaries, Introductory Note to art. 221, p. 59 [the crime of burglary “reflects a considered judgment that especially severe sanctions are appropriate for a criminal invasion of premises under circumstances likely to terrorize occupants.“].)
To implement this legislative purpose, I would give the term “enter,” as used in the burglary statute, the usual and ordinary meaning described earlier. Thus, a person “enters” a building when the person, or an instrument wielded by that person, passes through an area inside the building.
Under this definition, an intruder who removes a screen that is outside a closed window of a building, but who does not succeed in opening the window, has not “entered” the building. Why? Because a screen outside a closed window is not inside the building. For instance, if a homeowner removes the screens in order to wash the outside of the windows, that act does not constitute entry of the house. If
That conclusion is consistent with the Legislature’s purpose in requiring an entry as an element of burglary. As I have explained, an intruder who gains entry into a dwelling poses a danger to the occupants’ personal safety, increasing the risk of a violent encounter. But someone who, as in this case, removes a window screen but remains outside the closed window because he cannot open it, presents less of a danger to the occupants than one who opens the window and climbs into the house. Unlike the majority, I would hold that defendant committed not burglary but attempted burglary. In my view, that conclusion best effectuates the burglary statute’s legislative intent.1
Instead of relying on the ordinary aids used in statutory construction, such as dictionary definitions and the common law, the majоrity concocts a definition of its own. According to the majority, an intruder crosses the “outer boundary” of a building simply by being in “an area into which a reasonable person would believe that a member of the general public could not pass without authorization.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 11.) That might be a reasonable definition if the Legislature had said so. But it did not. Instead, it required that the defendant enter the building. Crossing a building’s “outer boundary” is not the same as entering it.
III
To commit a burglary in California one must enter a building with the requisite intent. The ordinary meaning of “enter” is a movement by an intruder (or an instrument wielded by an intruder) inside the building. This is consistent with the burglary statute’s underlying purpose of deterring violent confrontations between intruders and occupants of buildings. Instead of embracing this straightforward definition, however, the majority adopts a complex formula that relies on outer boundaries, reasonable expectations, and “authorization” to “pass.”
This is a relatively simple case. The defеndant set out to break into a house to steal something inside. He encountered a double barrier: a screen and a window. He succeeded in getting through the first barrier but not the second, and thus failed to “enter” the house within the meaning of the
burglary statute. He is therefore guilty not of burglary but of attempted burglary, as the Court of Appeal held. Accordingly, I would affirm the Court of Appeal’s judgment.