Burglary

The MBE’s favorite burglary trap is the timing of intent: a defendant breaks in, then decides to steal once inside. That defeats common-law burglary because the felonious intent must coexist with the entry—watch for fact patterns where the defendant enters to escape weather or sleep, and only later forms criminal intent. A second classic tell is completion: burglary is complete at the moment of entry with the requisite intent, so the answer can be guilty even though the intended felony (often larceny) was never carried out. The intended felony also need not be theft—intent to commit assault, rape, or any felony satisfies the element.

Don’t conflate burglary with its sibling theft crimes. Larceny, robbery, and burglary are separate offenses, and a defendant can generally be convicted of both burglary and the completed larceny inside (no merger under the majority rule). Robbery requires force or intimidation against a person; burglary punishes the unlawful entry. Memory hook: burglary buys the ticket at the door—guilt locks in on entry, not on whatever happens after.