State v. Parvilus

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court holds that NMSA 1978, Section 40-3-3, which provides that neither spouse may be excluded from the other's dwelling, does not create immunity from prosecution for burglary of a spouse's separate residence. The Court concludes that the defendant's surreptitious entry into his estranged wife's apartment, without permission and with criminal intent, satisfied the unauthorized-entry element of aggravated burglary. The Court reverses the lower courts and remands for reinstatement of the aggravated burglary conviction.

Holdings

1. NMSA 1978, Section 40-3-3 does not provide immunity from prosecution for burglary of a spouse's separate residence. The statute concerns marital property rights and does not authorize an unconsented criminal entry into a spouse's separate dwelling.
2. Defendant's aggravated burglary conviction was legally supported because the evidence established that the apartment was his wife's separate residence, he had agreed not to retain a key, he lacked permission to enter, and he entered surreptitiously through a window before committing the charged crimes.

Questions Presented

1. Whether NMSA 1978, Section 40-3-3, providing that neither spouse can be excluded from the other's dwelling, precludes prosecution and conviction for burglary of a spouse's separate residence.
2. Whether the evidence established an unauthorized entry sufficient to support Defendant's aggravated burglary conviction.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded