Memorandum

To:

Attorney Minor, Managing Partner

From:

Victoria Freeman

Subject:

George Burglary Case

Date:

November 19, 2016

This memorandum is written in response to your November 19th for information

regarding The George Burglary Case. Based on the analysis, George will be charged with first
degree burglary.
George, the burglar, was burglarizing a Howard University dormitory during the late
December 2013, when the University was closed between Fall and Spring semesters. During this
interim period, the University allows residents assistances (RAs) early entry so that they may
have access and move-in residence halls before the Spring semester; this is also considered a
good precaution. Those International students or RAs who cannot afford to travel back to their
home countries use this interim period to either remain in existing rooms or new rooms to settlein. During the commission of this crime, George heard some noises upstairs and a result, grabbed
a poker from the fireplace and hid himself behind a curtain in the drawing room. Moving the
curtain, he looked up to the top of the stairs and saw someones foot at the top stop. Seeing this
he choose to exclaim Dont take another step,.If you come down here, Ill kill you. The
person at the top of the steps froze upon hearing the statement. This allowed George an
opportunity to slip out the window. The Metropolitan Police of Washington D.C. captured
George a few hours later that day, while he was walking on campus.
The question is whether George is liable for committing first or second degree burglary,
as it pertains to the crime of his burglarizing of a Howard University dormitory.
The D.C. Criminal Code, Section 460 states every burglary of an inhabited dwelling
house committed in the nighttime, or of an inhabited dwelling house committed by a person
armed with a deadly weapon in the nighttime or daytime, or of an inhabited dwelling house who
while in the commission of such burglary arms himself with a deadly weapon in the nighttime or
daytime, or of an inhabited dwelling house who while in the commission of such burglary
assaults any person, is burglary of the first degree. All other kinds of burglary are of the second
degree.
The common thread between all the elements in that case is that the house burglarized be
an inhabited dwelling house. An inhabited dwelling house is defined as a house in which a
person lives. The dormitory that George was burglarizing was being inhabited by RAs along
with international students during the interim period between the Fall and Spring semesters.
Based on the facts, George burglarized an inhabited dwelling house.

The first way George can be charge with first degree burglary is for George to have
committed the crime during the nighttime. By definition, the nighttime is the time of the day
after the sun has set. In the fact pattern, the time of day is not explicitly stated; it cannot be
accurately determined whether it is the day. According to this definition, it cannot be determined
whether George committed the crime at night.
Another way George can be charged with burglary is if he was armed with a deadly
weapon at the beginning of the crime. The beginning is defined as the point in time or space at
which something starts. George was not armed with a deadly weapon at the beginning of the
crime, he only proceeded to dawn a weapon after his presence was discovered. For this reason,
George was not armed with a deadly weapon at the beginning of the crime.
George can also be charged with burglary if it can be proven that he armed himself with a
deadly weapon during the commission of the crime. During is defined as, throughout the course
or duration of a period time. During the commission of the crime George proceed to arm himself
with the fire place poker and issue a death threat to the person at the top of the steps. Based on
the analysis, George was armed during the commission of the crime.
Finally, another rule at issue in this case, is whether George assaulted someone during the
commission of the crime. Assault is defined by the D.C. Criminal Code, Section 240, which
states that a criminal assault is an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a
violent injury on the person of another. By picking up the fireplace poker, and then threatening to
kill his victim if he took another step. He had a present ability, which is defined as a person's
immediate capacity to do an act, which is consistent with the fact pattern being that his threat
cause the person to stop in their tracks. This means that the person took his threat seriously
enough to believe he had the immediate capacity to kill him. Based on the facts, George is liable
for assault.
Based on the analysis, George will be charged with 1st degree burglary.