Page 25 Flashcards
What two elements must be present in order to find a larceny in a finders the situation?
D finds property and:
- formed the intent to permanently deprive at the time of finding
- and there were indications of the property’s true owner on the item and D knew or should have known that reasonable efforts would likely produce the identity of the owner
What is a central element to figure out the difference between custody and possession?
The degree of control the employee has over the property
If a defendant reasonably believes property has been abandoned, not lost, is it larceny if he takes it?
No
What is the MPC stance on finders for larceny?
Punishes failure to make a reasonable effort to return the property regardless of initial intent
What is lost property?
Property that has been misplaced by the lawful possessor and not abandoned or mislaid
If you accidentally dropped $20, what is that money considered?
Lost property
If you find property that is lost by unidentifiable owners, is it larceny to take it?
No
If you find property where the owners are reasonably identifiable, and you intend to keep it for yourself, is that larceny?
Yes
What is abandoned property?
When the lawful possessor discards it, never intending to take it back
Can abandoned property be stolen?
No, because it no longer belongs to anyone
What is an example of abandoned property?
Garbage bags put out behind the house
What is mislaid property?
Property deliberately set aside by the rightful possessor with the intent of returning to get it, even if they forget where they put it
What is an example of mislaid property?
Parking your car around the block and forgetting where it is
What is breaking bulk?
A common-law rule where if a carrier breaks into packaged goods and takes part of it, that is larceny because he had possession of the entire package but only had custody of the individual items
If a common carrier takes a whole package of goods, what is he guilty of?
Embezzlement
What is the continuing trespass/relation back doctrine?
If a defendant gets property through an innocent mistake, with no intent to steal but then later forms intent, he can be guilty of larceny because continuing trespass continues the initial trespassory taking of the item and the criminal intent relates back to the original taking
If you accidentally grab someone else’s umbrella, and then later decide to keep it, what are you guilty of and why?
Larceny, through the continuing trespass doctrine
Is the continuing trespass doctrine a majority theory?
No, the majority haven’t adopted it
If a woman goes to a restaurant and thinks another woman has taken her coat, so she follows her home, breaks in, and takes the coat, but later realizes it isn’t hers, then decides to keep it anyway, what is she guilty of?
- majority CL approach: nothing because she didn’t have the intent to steal when she took the coat
- continuing trespass doctrine: larceny because the original taking was wrongful and the initial trespass continues until the intent to steal is formed and then the two merge to create larceny
What is bail?
Entrusting chattel in the care of another
What is a Bailee?
A person entrusted with the chattel of another
What is a bailor?
A person that entrusts his chattel into the care of another
When a bailee accepts possession of goods with no intent to steal, is that custody or possession?
Possession
If a bailee receives goods, forms the intent to steal and then later steals them, what has happened?
Larceny by trick
If a Bailee gets lawful possession and then steals an entire container of goods, what is he guilty of?
Embezzlement
What is an alternative to the continuing trespass theory?
Held in trust
What is the held in trust theory?
If a defendant finds property that is reasonably identifiable and intends to return it, but later decides to keep it, the theory is that the property was held in trust and the defendant had lawful possession while waiting for the true owner, but once he decided to keep it, he violated that trust and the continuing position became an embezzlement
What is the common carrier doctrine for larceny?
If property is lost or misplaced on a common carrier, the common law says the operator has a duty to take possession of the property and hold it in constructive trust for the rightful owner
Examples of common carriers:
Bus, taxi, ship, train, plane
If a common carrier takes possession of mislaid property and then later decides to steal it, what is he guilty of?
Embezzlement because he had lawful possession
What is the rule for property found in containers for larceny?
If a defendant gets lawful possession of a container and then discovers lost/misplaced property inside, the law is the same as for any other lost thing unless the original owner gave possession knowing something was inside
If the original owner of an item gave possession knowing something was inside the container, but didn’t know what it was, what is the split in authority?
- D had lawful possession of everything, so it isn’t larceny to keep the item
- D only had lawful possession of the container and what would normally be expected to be inside it (so keeping anything unexpected is larceny)
If you find money in the pocket of a pair of pants you just bought, would that be larceny to keep it?
No, because finding money in a pocket is totally expected
If property is delivered by mistake, and you know it at the time of delivery, but take it anyway, what are you guilty of?
Larceny, because you had the intent to permanently deprive
If you accidentally give $100 bill to a store clerk thinking it is only $10, and he gives you two dollars’ change, what has happened?
Larceny, if he didn’t also make a mistake
If you take delivery of property not realizing it was mistakenly delivered, are you guilty of larceny?
No, because you had rightful position
For the intent element of larceny, you must intend to do one of what three things?
Deprive the owner of possession either:
- permanently, or
- for an unreasonable amount of time, or
- with intent to create a substantial risk of permanent loss
How is reasonableness decided when it comes to the amount of time that you intend to deprive someone of their goods?
Depends on the item how long reasonable is. Ie: food versus clothes
If you intend to keep, destroy, or hold property for ransom, is that enough for intent to permanently deprive for larceny?
Yes
Is larceny a specific or general intent crime?
Specific intent
What is the MPC approach to intent to permanently deprive for larceny?
Withholding the property long enough that a major portion of economic value is wasted, or with intent to restore only once compensation is given
If you dispose of property where it is unlikely to be recovered, is that enough for intent to permanently deprive for larceny?
Yes
If you take someone’s property with intent to return it within a reasonable time, have you committed a larceny?
Not so long as you have the ability to return the property
If you take property and intend to recklessly use it, then abandon it, is that larceny?
Yes
If you abandon property in an area where you intend for the victim to find it again, and you didn’t have intent to permanently deprive when you took it, have you committed a larceny?
Yes if you created a substantial likelihood that the victim would be deprived of his property
