December 12, 2007, 15:08
Gordon LeMaireBurglary of a Habitation
Is a home under construction a building or a habitation?
December 12, 2007, 15:23
WHMA habitation is a structure "adapted for the overnight accomodation of persons." I would suppose it is up to the jury as to whether your building is near enough completion to be considered sufficiently "adapted" to have become a habitation.
From
Matter of E.P., 963 S.W.2d 191, 193 (Tex.App.--Austin 1998):
The controlling standard for determining whether a structure qualifies as a habitation under this definition is expressed in
Blankenship v. State, 780 S.W.2d 198 (Tex.Crim.App.1989) (opinion on reh'g). The
Blankenship court noted that determining whether a structure is or is not suitable for the overnight accommodation of persons is a "complex, subjective factual question fit for a jury's determination."
Id. at 209. Factors to be considered include whether the structure was being used as a residence at the time of the trespass; whether the structure "contained bedding, furniture, utilities, or other belongings common to a residential structure"; and whether the structure was of such character that it was likely intended to accommodate persons overnight.
Id. The
Blankenship court...noted that "[a]ll of these factors are relevant; none are essential or necessarily dispositive."
Id.