Legal Memorandum Format Sample Page 7
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10status as a dwelling is dependent upon whether it can reasonably be viewed as an extension of the
Stripe family’s living quarters within the home itself. The defendant would argue that the fact
that the McIntyre porch was physically attached to the family’s home was essential to the court’s
holding. Only because it was physically attached to the home could the porch reasonably be
viewed as an extension of the family’s living quarters. In contrast, the Stripe’s garage stands
thirty feet away from their residence.
While having some merit, this argument should fail. Although the McIntyre court did
note that the porch was physically “attached and enclosed,” it concluded that it was the owners’
“activities” and use of the porch that made the porch “part of the living quarters of the house.”
578 N.E.2d at 314. Thus, the court implied that the activities for which the porch was used were
more important than the porch’s attachment to the home. Moreover, the fact that the porch was
separated from the utility room of the owners’ home by a door with “three locks” lends less
significance to the attached/detached distinction. The presence of three locks implies that the
porch area was not an open part of the main residence. Like the physically separate porch in
McIntyre, the Stripe garage is used as an extension of the Stripe family’s living quarters.
People v. Thomas lends further support to this conclusion. In Thomas, the court
minimized the importance of the garage’s physical attachment to the main residence while
emphasizing the garage’s use. The court reasoned that “[a] garage, at least in this instance,
whether attached to the various living units or not, cannot be deemed a residence or living
quarters.” 561 N.E.2d at 58 (emphasis added). By that statement, the court implied that the
garage’s physical attachment to the owner’s home was not important. That statement, together
with the court’s earlier definition of a dwelling as a structure used as a “living quarters,” implies
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