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by tptacek 3721 days ago
See for instance Massachusetts model jury instructions, which are explicit that opening an unlocked door constitutes "breaking".
1 comments

Yes, but that's using force to open the door, which was in my original claim about no force on an open window.

Reading that WP article again, turns out I was just considering the common law part. It later says:

> The common law definition has been expanded in most jurisdictions, such that the building need not be a dwelling or even a building in the conventional sense, physical breaking is not necessary, the entry does not need to occur at night, and the intent may be to commit any felony or theft.

So I'll give it to you for "physical breaking is not necessary", even though I don't actually know about the jurisdiction in question. (I didn't rtfa.)

What's your point, though? If opening an unlocked door is B&E, what does the lockpicking analogy teach us?
Oh, I was literally just arguing the other side about going through an open window because I didn't know for sure if it was burglary. (Common law says no, but that's probably updated, but maybe not in some places, but I didn't check them all.)

I don't see how you could access a computer without using "force", any input from a human constitutes force in my opinion. So no disagreement as far as the actual crime is concerned, I'm just nitpicking for fun...

On reflection, perhaps this pointless diversion yields the following maxim:

  You can walk into a house through an open door,
  but you can't walk into a computer.
You can totally walk into a computer. I've done it. Hurts.
The only machine around here that I could totally walk into is an S/390, but oddly enough I don't have the key to its bedroom.