Burglary Law in South Carolina

This research reviews the principles of general criminal law in the United States to provide a basis for the analysis of burglary law in South Carolina. Following the review of the principles of general criminal law, the South Carolina burglary statute is assessed within the context of consistency with the principles of general criminal law.

A crime is generally defined as an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law that either forbids or commands the relevant act. Within this context, a crime is considered to be an offense against the sovereignty of the state that is injurious both the victim and the public at large, and which is punishable through a judicial proceeding in the name of the government. No act can be considered to be a crime unless the act previously has been made a crime by statute or by common law.

To impose criminal penalties on an individual, the state must show that the individual committed some unlawful act or engaged in some prohibited course of conduct, together with a wrongful intent or mens rae. No person can lawfully be convicted of a crime where intent was present but wherein the individual did not execute the intention. Further, an individual can be convicted only for an offense actually committed, and not for an offense that the individual might commit in the future. To constitute a crime, the act in question must be one tha

. . .
s the South Carolina burglary statute consistent with the principles of general criminal law. The stipulation that the punishment for conviction of the offense of burglary shall be incarceration in the state penitentiary classifies the crime of burglary as a felony in South Carolina causes the South Carolina law to be consistent with the principles of general criminal law. The elements of the crime for the offense of burglary in South Carolina are defined as the breaking and entering of a dwelling house in the nighttime with an intent to commit a felony. The requirement of intent to commit a crime is consistent with the principles of general criminal law. A 1981 court ruling held that intent to commit a crime, as opposed to the requirement of intent to commit a felony, was sufficient to establish intent within the context of the South Carolina burglary statute. The statute has been amended to delete the requirement that the act occur at night. Dwelling house was defined in the 1984 Code as "any house, outhouse, apartment, building, erection, shed or box in which there sleeps a proprietor, tenant, watchman, clerk, laborer or person who lodges there with a view to protection of the property . . ., or . .
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
South Carolina, Criminal Law, Smith Miss, Amendments Code, Laws Article, south carolina, criminal law, BURGLARY Introduction, CA2 NY, degree burglary, United Laub, American Jurisprudence, principles criminal, Winters York, principles criminal law, burglary statute, burglary degree, dwelling house, south carolina burglary, carolina burglary, carolina burglary statute, act burglary, common law, consistent principles criminal, commission act burglary,
Approximate Word count = 1776
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Burglary Law in South Carolina