As you are trying to recollect with detail all of the facts of this case, you begin to retell the story of what you heard three nights before from both the perpetrator and the homeowners.

"According to the homeowners," you begin telling the prosecutor, "they first heard the breaking of glass (they assumed a window) on the night of the home invasion. After that, they knew someone was inside of the house because the dog started barking loudly, which he only does, according to the homeowners, when a strange, unfamiliar person is inside the house. So they quickly grabbed their kids and locked themselves inside the master bedroom. That's when they called 911.

"Now," you switch gears, "according to the perpetrator, he had no knowledge that anyone was inside the house, and, once he learned that they were inside after 'accidentally' breaking the window, he did not so much as stick his head inside. He immediately sat down on the chair on the porch and waited for the police to come . . . which he assumed would not take long."

"Interesting," says the prosecutor, as she finishes her furiously paced note taking.

What is still very much a question is whether or not there was defiant trespassing versus trespassing; "breaking" and entering versus unlawful entry, or entry at all; and burglary versus home invasion robbery, if either. Do you feel that, since the perpetrator eventually figured out that there was a family inside the house, and since he must have assumed they did not want him there, it was a case of defiant trespassing? Further, if, in fact, he did not actually "enter" the house, did breaking and entering occur? Can there be "breaking" without "entering"? And are there grounds to charge either burglary or home invasion robbery?

The prosecutor is relying on your instincts and advice, as well as the testimony, facts, and evidence available, to help her make the very important decision of how to proceed. As you know, the prosecution needs solid information and a reliable account or evidence in order to successfully prosecute. How do you recommend she proceed?