State v. Steinbach

667 P.2d 641, 35 Wash. App. 473, 1983 Wash. App. LEXIS 2652
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 1, 1983
DocketNo. 11732-7-I
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 667 P.2d 641 (State v. Steinbach) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Steinbach, 667 P.2d 641, 35 Wash. App. 473, 1983 Wash. App. LEXIS 2652 (Wash. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

Callow, J.

The defendant, Terri L. Steinbach, appeals the judgment of the King County Superior Court, Juvenile Department, convicting her of second degree burglary, alleging that there was insufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We are asked whether a minor child who has been temporarily removed from her parental home and placed in an alternative residence pursuant to a court ordered alternative residential placement can be convicted of burglarizing the parental home.

Since April of 1981, Terri L. Steinbach, a minor child, had been living with her natural mother, Verna Garcia, and her mother's husband at 11063 18th S.W., Seattle, Washington. On October 19, 1981, Terri Steinbach filed a Petition To Approve Alternative Residential Placement (ARP) with the juvenile court, asking to be placed outside the homes of either of her natural parents. This petition was approved by the juvenile court and on February 26, 1982, Steinbach was placed by juvenile court order in an alternative residence. Because of her opposition to the child's placement outside the home, her mother was not required to pay support.

On March 2, 1982, Terri Steinbach forcibly entered her mother's residence at 11063 18th S.W. through a boarded-up window. She was accompanied by three or four young men. The group was observed removing some items from the house. Three rifles and other items of personal property [475]*475owned by Steinbach's mother and her mother's husband which had been kept in the house were subsequently found by the police in the alley behind the house.

Steinbach was charged by amended information with second degree burglary pursuant to RCW 9A.52.030 and with possession of stolen property in the second degree pursuant to RCW 9A.56.160(l)(e) and 9A.56.140(1). A fact-finding hearing was conducted on April 28, 1982. The trial court entered findings which stated in part:

1.
Terri L. Steinback [sic] was born on 1 September 1967.
2.
That Verna Garcia who lives at 11063-18th Southwest, Seattle, is Terri's natural mother.
3.
That Terri has also lived at 11063-18th Southwest, Seattle, since April 1981.
4.
That on 2 March 1982 Terri did enter the residence located at 11063-18th Southwest.
5.
That Verna Garcia had advised Terri some two weeks before not to enter the residence unless she was visiting her parents.
8.
That Terri did not have permission to enter her residence at 11063-18th Southwest.
9.
That Terri entered her residence at 11063-18th Southwest with the intent to commit a crime inside by removing a board from covering a window in the back of the residence.

The trial court found the defendant guilty of one count of second degree burglary. She appeals.

RCW 9A.52.030 states in part:

A person is guilty of burglary in the second degree if, with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein, he enters or remains unlawfully in a building other than a vehicle.

(Italics ours.) RCW 9A.52.010(3) states that "[a] person 'enters or remains unlawfully' in or upon premises when he [476]*476is not then licensed, invited, or otherwise privileged to so enter or remain." Steinbach does not dispute the trial court's finding of fact that she entered her mother's residence with the intent to commit a crime inside. She contends there was insufficient evidence to establish that she was there "unlawfully."

The proper test for determining if there is sufficient evidence to support guilt in a criminal case is "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'" State v. Green, 94 Wn.2d 216, 221, 616 P.2d 628 (1980) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560, 99 S. Ct. 2781 (1979)). Steinbach asserts that the State produced no court order which severely limited or terminated the parent-child relationship between her and her mother. She contends that she had both the right and privilege to claim entry and shelter in her mother's residence and, consequently, could not enter or remain "unlawfully."

Steinbach's contention that a minor child has both the right and the privilege to claim entry and shelter in the residence of her parents is based upon In re Adoption of Lybbert, 75 Wn.2d 671, 453 P.2d 650 (1969).

The commonly understood general obligations of parenthood entail these minimum attributes: (1) express love and affection for the child; (2) express personal concern over the health, education and general well-being of the child; (3) the duty to supply the necessary food, clothing, and medical care; (4) the duty to provide an adequate domicile; and (5) the duty to furnish social and religious guidance.

75 Wn.2d at 674. See In re Adoption of Tryon, 27 Wn. App. 842, 844-45, 621 P.2d 775 (1980).

However, Steinbach herself had filed an ARP pursuant to RCW 13.32A.150 and by court order was placed in a residence other than her mother's home prior to the burglary. On January 28, 1982, the trial court entered the fol[477]*477lowing order:

Alternative placement is changed as follows: Temporary placement with mother pending foster care placement. . . . When foster care home is found, Terri shall reside there and abide by all rules and regulations.

She was placed in another home by court order on February 26, 1982. This alternative residential placement shifted to the State Steinbach's mother's obligation to provide a domicile for her daughter as well as Steinbach's corresponding right and privilege to reside at her mother's residence.

Under RCW 13.32A, Procedures for Families in Conflict, a child or parent may file with the juvenile court a petition to approve an alternative residential placement for the child outside the parent's home. RCW 13.32A.150.

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Related

State v. Jensen
789 P.2d 772 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1990)
State v. Steinbach
679 P.2d 369 (Washington Supreme Court, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
667 P.2d 641, 35 Wash. App. 473, 1983 Wash. App. LEXIS 2652, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-steinbach-washctapp-1983.