Quote:
Originally Posted by theducks
because: of the basic 'locked door' test used for burglary / unauthorized access.
If the door is left OPEN, it is just trespassing. at the worst (assumes no other activities after entry)
If you Force your way past a locked door, it is B & E
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IANAL, and it's definitely off topic, and I don't know how it is in FL or where ever you are, but in Tennessee, it's Breaking and Entering if you unlawfully enter the house, whether or not the door is locked. "Breaking" here understood in the sense of "breaking the plane of the threshold" (i.e. crossing the threshold).
Additionally, if the house or dwelling is occupied by someone who has a right to be there, at the time of the B&E, the breakin in itself is assumed to constitute an "immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm" to the occupant, which is sufficient to permit the use of deadly force to counteract said threat.