California Criminal Defense Blog

Plea bargaining is a useful tool that is beneficial to both the prosecution and the defense. The parties typically enter into these negotiations when neither side is confident that the case will ultimately resolve in their favor.

When the defendant and prosecutor strike a deal, the prosecutor obtains a criminal conviction against the defendant and the defendant pleads guilty or “no contest” to a lesser charge and (in most cases) to a lesser sentence than he would have faced under his original charge(s).

Two of the most common plea bargain charges are Penal Code 602 PC, California’s trespassing law, and Penal Code 415 PC, disturbing the peace. Although neither crime typically relates to the underlying offense, both of these charges can be filed as either misdemeanors or infractions, which is why they are popular plea bargaining tools. Additionally, a Penal Code 602 PC, California trespassing charge invites little if any real scrutiny on a criminal record.

The fact is that the vast majority of criminal cases do not go to trial. Many defendants plead “straight up” to the charge(s) against them, while the remaining cases usually resolve when the involved parties negotiate a plea bargain.

The traditional common law definition of burglary is breaking and entering a structure with the intent of stealing goods or committing other crimes inside. Under Penal Code 459, California burglary law breaks with the common law by nixing the "breaking and entering" requirement. A person in this state still commits burglary when, for example, he walks into a house through a wide open door intending to commit a theft once inside.

But California law still retains the "breaking and entering" requirement with regard to one particular form of the crime: auto burglary. A person cannot be convicted of automobile burglary in this state unless it's proven that the vehicle was locked and secured and the burglar used force to gain entry.

By way of example, imagine that Bill enters a parked Camry believing there may be valuables in the car. But to his dismay, he finds nothing of value in the car and so he steals nothing. If the car had been locked, he committed an auto burglary. If the car had been unlocked, there's no auto burglary (though he still might be liable for a California criminal trespass charge). If Bill had stolen something, he'd also be liable for a theft offense.

The breaking and entering requirement is based on the legislative intent to make it more serious to break into a car than merely to steal something from it.