Name: Penal Code 459 -- Burglary
Uploaded: 2017-11-29T20:48:48.000Z
Duration: 7 min 3 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

-In Penal Code Section 459, California law defines

burglary as entering a structure with the intent to

commit either a theft or some felony inside.

Now a lot of people confuse burglary with robbery and

theft, and they're actually three very different concepts.

Robbery is when you use violence or threats of

violence to take something from somebody's immediate

Theft is basically anytime you steal something of value.

Whereas burglary, on the other hand, is when you enter a

and that could be a house, it could be a business, it could

but entering a structure or a building with the intent to

-For example, a burglary, under California Penal Code

459, can be a situation where somebody breaks into a home

with the intent to steal clothing items, jewelry,

Another example of burglary can be going into a bank to

A different example of burglary can be a situation

where a person goes to a child-care facility with the

Now that isn't theft, but you are going there with the

intent to commit a felony, and therefore, it is burglary.

-Under California Penal Code 459, merely entering a

structure with the intent to commit a theft, or any felony,

once you're inside constitutes a burglary.

So really, entry is the crux of the crime here.

For example, say you enter your neighbor's home with the

And when you're inside his home, you realize that you

can't find the computer and it's not there.

That still constitutes the burglary, because you entered

the home to commit a theft of his computer

So it doesn't even matter that you didn't actually

-There's also a lot of confusion between burglary and

The fact is that in California law, breaking and entering is

What that means, essentially, is that you could be convicted

of burglary even if there was no forced entry.

And to give you an example, suppose I'm walking down the

And the front door is wide open, and inside the door is a

So I walk through that open front door, take the

Now in that situation, there was no forced entry.

I mean, even though the door was wide open, the mere fact

that I entered the house or the structure with the intent

to commit a theft inside is enough to make it a burglary.

-Under California Penal Code 459, first degree residential

We treat our homes as our castle, and therefore,

residential burglary has more harsh penalties.

A person can face up to six years' incarceration as well

A person will be liable for entry into any residence.

It doesn't have to be a house in the traditional sense.

It could be a hotel where a person is staying.

Here in California, there was even a case where a person was

liable for residential burglary for breaking into a

-By contrast, California Penal Code 459 treats second degree

burglary, otherwise known as commercial burglary, a little

Commercial burglary is where you enter a business, or a

factory, or someplace where you know no one resides.

Here in California, commercial burglary is what's called a

"wobbler," which means the prosecutor can choose to file

it as either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the

If you're convicted of felony commercial burglary in

California, you face up to three years in state prison.

However, if you're convicted of a misdemeanor commercial

burglary, you only face up to one year in county jail.

-Burglary is one of those crimes that can be

surprisingly difficult for the prosecutor to prove in court.

And in fact, lots of innocent people get wrongfully accused

The good news is that here at Shouse Law Group, we've had a

great record of success over the years in fighting burglary

charges and helping our clients to get those charges

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Penal Code 459 -- Burglary

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