State v. Greer

I concur in the result. I write separately, however, to address the problems with Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-507(1) (Reissue 1995), which provides that a person commits burglary if such person willfully, maliciously, and forcibly breaks and enters any real estate or any improvement erected thereon with intent to commit any felony or with intent to steal property of any value. As written, breaking is an essential element of burglary, and in my opinion, it should not be an essential element.

For more than a century, we have tried to define “breaking” in terms of requiring the removal of an…