People v. Ryan, 82 N.Y.2d 497 (1993)
A conviction for burglary requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant entered the premises with the contemporaneous intent to commit a crime therein; jury instructions that mislead the jury into believing that a non-criminal act could satisfy the intent element are prejudicial and require a new trial.
Summary
Defendant Ryan was convicted of burglary after entering a service station and stealing money. At trial, Ryan claimed he entered only to find a hose for his bicycle tire and decided to steal the money only after seeing the open cash register. The jury asked if the intent to take the hose, even temporarily, could satisfy the intent element of burglary. The trial court’s response implied that temporary use of the hose could be a crime, thus satisfying the intent element. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the jury instruction was prejudicially misleading because temporary use of the hose, if not a service the station charged for, was not a crime, and thus could not provide the necessary intent for burglary.
Facts
Ryan entered a service station at 2:00 a.m. and stole money from the cash register. He was charged with burglary in the third degree, among other crimes. At trial, Ryan testified he entered the station solely to find a missing hose from an air compressor to inflate his bicycle tire. He claimed the intent to steal the money arose only after he found the open cash register.
Procedural History
Ryan was convicted of burglary in the third degree in the County Court, Onondaga County. He appealed. The Appellate Division affirmed. Ryan then appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether a jury instruction that allows the jury to conclude that the defendant’s intent to commit a non-criminal act upon entry can satisfy the “intent to commit a crime upon entry” element required for a burglary conviction.
Holding
No, because the jury instruction improperly allowed the jury to base a burglary conviction on the defendant’s intent to commit an act (temporary use of the air hose) that was not necessarily a crime.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals held that the trial court’s supplemental instruction was prejudicially misleading. The court reasoned that the jury instruction erroneously allowed the jury to determine whether temporary use of the air hose was a crime, which is a question of law reserved for the court. “Absent any proof that use of the air was a service for which the station charged, temporary use of the hose would not amount to any crime”. The court cited Penal Law § 165.15 [4] (theft of services) and Penal Law § 155.00 [1], [8]; § 155.05. Because the jury could have based the burglary conviction on the intent to temporarily use the hose, which may not have been a crime, the conviction was improper. The court stated that the instruction improperly allowed the jury to conclude that defendant’s intent to temporarily use the air hose could establish the “intent to commit a crime upon entry” predicate for a burglary conviction, therefore necessitating a new trial. The court reaffirmed the principle that “the crime of burglary is committed when a person knowingly and unlawfully enters a building with the contemporaneous intent to commit a crime therein”.