Property Offences: Theft Flashcards
Book 2: Chapter 8
What is theft defined as and the section it is charged under?
-‘Theft’ is defined in S1 of the Theft Act 1968 as ‘a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it’
What sections in the Theft Act are used to explain words/phrases in the definition of “theft”?
-Section 2: dishonesty (MR)
-Section 3: appropriates (AR)
-section 4: property (AR)
-section 5: belonging to another (AR)
-section 6: with the intention of permanently depriving (MR)
What does Section 3 state about appropriation and what does this mean?
-In section 3, it states, “any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to appropriation”
-the rights of an owner can include selling the property, destroying it, possessing it, consuming, lending and hiring it.
What are the cases for appropriation?
-Vinall:showed there was an ‘assumption of the rights of an owner’(guilty)
-Morris:showed that there does not have to be an assumption of ALL of the rights of an owner (guilty)
What are other case law for appropriation (3)?
-LAWRENCE: appropriation was an assumption of any of the owner’s rights, taking place regardless of whether the owner consents.
-HINKS: even though V gave a valid gift, it was still an appropriation.
-ABRAHAMS: appropriation occurs the first time a person assumes the rights of an owner
What does Section 3 state about a later assumption of a right?
-Section 3 makes it clear that there can also be an appropriation where the defendant acquires property without stealing it, but then later decides to keep or deal with the property as owner.
What are all the things considered as property and what was shown in the case of Lindsay?
-money, real property (land/buildings), personal property, things in action (bank account, credit card holder) and other intangible property.
-it was held in Lindsay that dead bodies and body parts are personal property.
What does section 5 state about “belonging to another”?
-person can have either have possession, control of the property or any proprietary interest in it.
What are the cases for belonging to another?
-TURNER:belonging to another
-WOODMAN:shows its possible for someone to be in possession/control of property even though he/she does not know its there.
-RICKETTS:shows that when goods are left for someone, goods belong to the original owner until new owner takes possession of them.
What is a case for proprietary interest?
-WEBSTER.
What is the case of Webster?
BELONGING TO ANOTHER: PROPRIETARY INTEREST
-D was an army sergeant, he was awarded a medal for his service.
-By mistake, he was sent a second copy of his medal which he sold on EBay.
-he was convicted of theft of the medal as the Minister still had a proprietary interest in the medal .
What are the scenarios and cases for where D can be guilty of theft even though the property may not “belong to another”?
-trust property, where a trustee can steal it.
-property received under an obligation (HALL)
-property received by another’s mistake. (GILKS)
What are examples of behaviour which is not dishonest?
-he/she has in law, the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of him/herself of a third person.
-he/she would have the others consent if the other knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it.
-the person to whom the property belongs cannot he discovered by taking reasonable steps.
What are the cases for dishonesty?
-SMALL (not guilty) D had an honest belief that the owner could not be found.
-HOLDEN (not guilty) D honestly believed that he/she had a legal right to the property.
What happens to ‘dishonesty’ in cases where D is willing to pay?
-D may say that he/she is willing to pay for the property or may, on taking property, leave money to pay for it. THIS DOES NOT PREVENT Ds CONDUCT FROM BEING DISHONEST.
What is the Ghosh test for dishonesty?
-1) Was what was done dishonest according to the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people?
-2)Did the defendant realise that what he/she was doing was dishonest by those standards?
What are the cases for an intention to permanently deprive?
-VELUMYL (guilty)
-LAVENDER:court ruled that ‘dispose of’ was too narrow, as a disposal could include ‘dealing with’ property.
What does Section 6 of the Theft Act state about the “intention to permanently deprive” state?
-S6 of the Theft Act states that D can be regarded as having the intention to permanently deprive the other of it if it is D’s intention to treat the thing as his/her own to dispose of, regardless of the other’s rights.
What are the cases for borrowing and conditional intent?
-LLOYD: it was in this case that it was held that borrowing the property and keeping it until the ‘goodness, the virtue, the practical value…has gone out of the article’ is an intention to permanently deprive.
-EASOM: D will not be guilty if conditional intent takes place.
