State v. Lopez

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At issue in this case was whether Defendant committed burglary when he entered another guest’s hotel room without that guest’s consent and committed a crime in that room.The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding Defendant guilt of first-degree burglary. On appeal, Defendant argued that the State failed to prove the essential element of burglary that he entered a building without consent. Specifically, Defendant argued that, as a paying guest at the hotel, he had consent to enter the hotel building and, therefore, could not commit burglary while in the hotel. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that when Defendant entered the victim’s hotel room he exceeded the scope of his consent to be present in the hotel building. Therefore, the evidence was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction. View "State v. Lopez" on Justia Law