People v. Yarbrough
144 Cal. Rptr. 3d 164, 54 Cal. 4th 889, 281 P.3d 68 (2012)
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Rule of Law:
For the purpose of the burglary statute, an entry onto a private, residential balcony on the second floor or higher constitutes an entry into the building when the balcony is designed to be entered only from inside the apartment and serves as an extension of the apartment's living space.
Facts:
- Salvador Deanda and his family lived in a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a building.
- The apartment's bedroom had a sliding glass door that opened onto a private balcony, which was surrounded by a metal railing approximately four feet high.
- The balcony was designed to be accessed only from inside the Deandas' apartment and was about eight or nine feet above the ground.
- Two bicycles were on the balcony and were visible from the street.
- Around midnight on August 5, 2009, Deanda was awakened by his dog barking.
- Deanda saw the defendant standing on the balcony with his toes under the railing and his fingers clutching the top of it.
- Deanda confronted the defendant, who then either fell or jumped to the ground.
Procedural Posture:
- The defendant was charged with residential burglary in a California trial court.
- The trial court instructed the jury that a building’s outer boundary includes the area inside an attached balcony.
- A jury convicted the defendant of residential burglary.
- The defendant, as appellant, appealed to the California Court of Appeal.
- The Court of Appeal, an intermediate appellate court, reversed the conviction, holding that the trial court's jury instruction was an error.
- The Attorney General, representing the People, petitioned the Supreme Court of California for review, which was granted.
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Issue:
Does a person 'enter' a building for the purposes of the burglary statute by climbing onto a second-floor apartment balcony that is accessible only from inside the apartment and serves as an extension of its living space?
Opinions:
Majority - Kennard, J.
Yes. An unauthorized entry onto a second-floor apartment's private balcony constitutes an entry into the building for purposes of the burglary statute when that balcony is designed to be entered only from inside the apartment and extends its living space. The court reasoned that under these specific circumstances, the balcony is an integral part of the apartment, not a separate, exterior feature. The railing of such a balcony marks the apartment's 'outer boundary,' and any crossing of that boundary, however slight, constitutes an entry. The court explicitly disapproved of its prior dictum in People v. Valencia which suggested that an 'unenclosed balcony' was not part of a building's outer boundary, calling the statement ill-considered and confusing. By creating this clear rule for elevated, private balconies, the court determined it did not need to apply the more general 'reasonable belief test' from Valencia.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies the definition of 'entry' for burglary by establishing a specific, bright-line rule for private balconies on the second floor or higher. It carves out an exception to, and disapproves of, potentially confusing dictum from People v. Valencia, thereby resolving ambiguity for lower courts. The ruling strengthens legal protections for residents of multi-story dwellings by treating their integrated private balconies as part of the sanctum of the home. In future cases with similar facts, courts can directly apply this rule rather than engaging in the more subjective 'reasonable belief' analysis.
