Legal Memorandum Format Sample Page 3
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10the family car. The converted section of the garage has a window and a locked door.
Michael spends two to three evenings a week and his free time on weekends in the get-a-
way, writing and listening to music and watching television. In addition, Michael is the lead
singer of a band, R.E.N., that plays once a month in clubs around town. The band practices in
the garage on Sunday mornings and stores some of their equipment there. During the summer
and fall when his parents are in town, Michael sleeps in the garage on a futon in a loft area.
When his parents travel to Florida during the winter and spring, Michael sleeps in the house.
The garage is equipped to accommodate Michael’s interests. In addition to the futon, the
garage contains an expensive sound system, a portable five-inch television, and a mini-
refrigerator. The garage has electricity and a space heater, but no running water or heat.
Discussion
The Stripe garage is a dwelling under Illinois’ Residential Burglary Statute (the
“Statute”). To prosecute Arnold successfully under the State, the State must prove that Arnold
“knowingly and without authority enter[ed] the dwelling place of another.” 720 Ill. Comp. Stat.
§ 5/19-3 (2000) (emphasis added). There is no real dispute that Arnold “knowingly” entered the
Stripe’s garage or that his entry was “without authority.” Whether the garage is a “dwelling
place” is more problematic. The Statute defines a dwelling as “a house, apartment, mobile home,
trailer or other living quarters in which . . . the owners or occupants actually reside. . . .” 720 Ill.
Comp. Stat. § 5/2-6(b) (2000) (emphasis added). This memorandum addresses whether the
Stripe garage is a “living quarters” in which Michael Stripe “actually resides.”
The Stripe’s garage is a “living quarters” in which Michael Stripe “actually resides.”
When determining whether a structure is a living quarters, courts evaluate the type of activities
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