A South Florida criminal defense attorney can explain that a defendant must meet a very precise definition for a prosecutor to meet his or her burden.   A South Florida criminal defense attorney will often recommend not entering a guilty plea before carefully considering the possible defenses to the charges.

Florida defines burglary as entering a dwelling, structure or conveyance owned by another while the defendant has the intent to commit a crime in that dwelling, structure or conveyance.   Alternatively, the defendant could enter the building and then remain inside with the intent to commit a crime there.

There are a number of defenses to burglary charges.   For example, the individual may have had the consent of someone who had possession or ownership of the building in question.   If he or she was invited by one of the inhabitants, the prosecutor may not be able to show that he or she met this element.   If a person gave the defendant the right to enter and did not adequately withdraw consent, the prosecutor may fail to show that the defendant did not have consent.   Likewise, if the place is open to the public, the individual may have implied consent to enter the property.

In other situations, a person may be at a location and somehow appear suspicious.   However, he or she may just be innocently at the location with no criminal intent.   He or she may have honestly believed that he or she had permission to be on the property even if the defendant did not actually have consent.   He or she may have thought that the property was his or her own or that of someone he or she knew.   In other circumstances, a witness or the victim may report a robbery and the defendant may be a victim of mistaken identity.