Whether you can be charged with burglary for entering your own home depends on whether the place you consider your home is a place where you have the legal right to be. People have been charged with and convicted of burglary for re-entering a home after moving out or being forced out, such as by a restraining order. You might also be charged with burglary if you were staying in a home but had not established legal tenancy and the legal resident had told you to leave. If you are charged with burglary for entering a place you considered to be your home, you need an experienced Chicago, IL felony defense lawyer to help you.
Orders of Protection and Burglary Charges
If your home or apartment is in your name, but your romantic partner also lives there, you could be ordered to vacate the residence if your partner obtains an order of protection. If you are ordered to vacate the residence, re-entering it could lead to not only restraining order violation charges but also burglary charges. It is rarely difficult for the state to read the intent to commit theft or a felony, such as a serious assault against your ex, into this type of unlawful entry. This is because you no longer have the legal right to be present in the home, even if you legally own it or the lease is in your name.