## Facts

- The defendant was prosecuted in Mississippi for burglary involving a house alleged to be a “dwelling house” under the state burglary statute.
- The structure at issue was a house into which no occupants had ever moved.
- The prosecution’s theory depended on treating the structure as a statutorily protected “dwelling house,” rather than another type of building.
- The defense challenged whether the building qualified as a “dwelling house” because it had never been used for human habitation.
- The trial court treated the building as a “dwelling house” and the defendant was convicted.
- The defendant sought appellate review in the Mississippi Supreme Court, arguing the evidence and legal definition did not support the “dwelling house” element required for the charged offense.

## Issues

1. Whether a house that has never been occupied as a residence can be treated as a “dwelling house” within Mississippi burglary statutes.
2. Whether the State proved the statutory element that the burglarized structure was a “dwelling house,” as charged.
3. What legal standard governs classification of a structure as a “dwelling house” for burglary when intended future habitation is shown but actual habitation has not occurred.

## Decision

- The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction.
- The court held that a house into which no residents have ever moved is not a “dwelling house” for purposes of the burglary statute.
- The court concluded the State failed to establish the “dwelling house” element required for the offense as charged.
- The court’s interpretation limited “dwelling house” to structures that have actually been used as places of human habitation, not merely prepared or intended for future occupancy.

## Legal Principles

- Burglary statutes requiring entry into a “dwelling house” demand proof that the structure has been used for habitation, not merely constructed or intended to be lived in.
- A building does not become a “dwelling house” solely because it is suitable for occupancy or is expected to be occupied in the future.
- When the charging instrument alleges burglary of a “dwelling house,” the State must prove that specific statutory classification beyond a reasonable doubt; failure of proof on that element requires reversal.
- Statutory terms defining the protected type of structure in burglary offenses are applied as legal limitations on criminal liability, not broadened by inference from a building’s design or planned use.

## Conclusion

The court reversed the burglary conviction because the State did not prove the house was a “dwelling house” within the burglary statute, holding that a structure never yet occupied as a residence does not qualify even if intended for future habitation.


Woods v. State, 186 Miss. 463, 191 So. 283 (Miss. 1939)