Theft

Question 1

Give the definition of theft.

Answer 1

Dishonest apparition of property belonging to nosher with the intention to permanently derive that person of it.

Question 2

What is the AR for theft?

Answer 2

Appropriation of property belonging to another.

Question 3

What is the MR of theft?

Answer 3

Dishonesty coupled with the intention to permanently deprive.

Question 4

Explain the appropriation requirement for theft.

Answer 4

s3 states appropriation is any assumption of the rights of an owner.

Appropriation can happen in a wide range of scenarios (including those which are entirely legal such as receiving a gift).

Question 5

Does appropriation have to occur at the time when D first deals with the property?

Answer 5

No.

S3(1) states it will include where D has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, but later keeps or deals with it as an owner.

Question 6

Can theft be committed more than once in relation to the same piece of property?

Answer 6

No.

Question 7

Define property.

Answer 7

s4 TA 1968 describes property as money and all other property, real or personal, including things ion action and other intangible property.

Question 8

What is real property?

Answer 8

Land and things attached/ fixed to it such as a house.

Question 9

What is personal property?

Answer 9

Includes things like cars, jewellery, clothes, phones etc.

Question 10

What are things in action and do they constitute property for the purposes of theft?

Answer 10

They are things such as money in a bank account (ie things which cannot be physically touched).

These such things do constitute property for the of theft.

Other intangible property such as patents can also be the subject of theft.

Question 11

List the situations where land can be stolen.

Answer 11

1) By a trustee in breach of trust;

2) By a person who is not in possession of the land, when they appropriate anything forming part of the land either by severing it, or after it has been severed.

3) By a tenant who takes something fixed to the land that they are not supposed to take.

Question 12

List somethings which cannot be stolen.

Answer 12

Electricity;
Confidential info;
Mushrooms fruit, flowers or foliage grown wild on land.

Question 13

Are wild animals property for the purposes of theft?

Answer 13

Yes but only if they are either ordinarily kept in captivity, or if they have been reduced into possession (ie domesticated).

Question 14

Explain the requirement that the property must belong to another.

Answer 14

S5(1) states the property must belong to another.

This is satisfied where any person has, possession, control or any proprietary right/ interest in the property in question.

Question 15

Can D be guilty of stealing their own property?

Answer 15

Yes in limited circumstances.

Good exam is case of Turner where D snuck into garage of mechanics and drove his car away. he had not paid the repair bill. Court agreed this amounted to theft as the garage were entitled to retain possession of the car until the money had been paid. Under s5, the property therefore belonged to the garage whilst the bill was outstanding.

Question 16

Explain the obligation to deal with property in a particular way.

Answer 16

Sometimes someone will give money to another for a particular purpose (eg school trip, entry fees).

Under normal rules, the money would no longer belong to another making it impossible for D to steal it.

however s5(3) provides that in such a situation, the property still belongs to the other where D is under an obligation to use the funds in a particular way.

Question 17

Give an example of where it was found property had not been abandoned.

Answer 17

D went into lake at night on a golf club to retrieve balls which he then sold.

it was found the property was not abandoned - the golf balls whilst abandoned by the owners, still belonged to the golf club.

Question 17

What is the rule in relation to abandoned property?

Answer 17

Property will not belong to another provided it has been genuinely abandoned.

Question 17

Explain the dishonesty requirement of the MR for theft.

Answer 17

there is no exact definition.

the theft act does however give three situations where D is deemed not to be acting dishonestly:

1) D has the right to the property in law (s2(1)(a));

2) The owner would have consented had they known of the circumstances (2(1)(b)); and

3) The owner cannot be discovered after taking reasonable steps (s2(1)(c).

The test for dishonesty is therefore subjective. The question is what D believed (not whether it is reasonable). However, the more unreasonable the belief is, the less likely a jury would accept D actually believed it.

Question 18

Can a D be found to have acted dishonestly even if they were willing to pay for the property?

Answer 18

Yes.

s2(2) states a person may be dishonest even if they were willing to pay for the property.

Question 19

Explain the order in which the various dishonesty tests should be used.

Answer 19

1) Court should first determine whether the dishonesty is clear. If it is then D is dishonest; if not

2) Court should then refer to the partial definitions of what is not dishonest in the statute; if this still doesn’t assist

3) The Ivey test should be followed.

Question 19

Explain the test for dishonesty which has arisen from the case of Ivey.

Answer 19

To find D is dishonest, jury must:

1) ascertain (subjectively) the actual sate of D’s knowledge or belief as to the facts; and then

2) determine whether their conduct was honest or dishonest by the (objective) standards of ordinary decent people.

Question 20

Explain the requirement - intention to permanently deprive.

Answer 20

S6(1) provides accused will have an intention to permanently deprive if he treats the property as his own to dispose of regardless of the owner’s rights.

D does not actually need to dispose of then property to satisfy this test.

D who has intention to use the property and then return it WILL be found to have the intention to permanently deprive.

Question 21

Give an example where D returns property after using it and will be found to have the intention to permanently deprive.

Answer 21

D takes someone’s debit card, uses it to buy something and then returns it.

Question 21

Explain in which circumstances borrowing something will be found to have the intention to permanently deprive (ie is equivalent to outright taking).

Answer 21

If D takes something and uses it for its only purpose and then returns the property, this would constitute intention to permanently deprive.

Eg D takes concert ticket, goes to concert and only returns it after the concert. This would fulfil the requirement as the ticket has no value when returned.

Question 22

Explain how parting with property under a condition as to its return may amount to intention to permanently deprive.

Answer 22

if someone parts with the property under a condition as to its return that they may not be able to perform, this amounts to intention to permanently deprive.

Classic example is stealing something to pawn and then redeem again in future. As D in such a situation cannot guarantee its return, this will be intention to permanently deprive regardless of the chances of them retrieving the good by repaying the pawn broker for it.