Criminal Law chapter 13
-property divided into: real property and personal property
-rights to property 1. Right of ownership 2. Right of possession of property (possession is
presumptive ownership)
-theft or larceny= unlawful taking of property of another with intent to deprive owner of
possession
→ a thief lacks the lawful right either to possession or to ownership of stolen
property, cannot convey lawful title to stolen property to another person
-theft or larceny requires specific intent to deprive owner of possession of property
-taking/caption= act of obtaining physical possession or control of another’s property,
unauthorized dominion over property
→ common law and some states still today require a taking and a carrying away of
stolen property; caption and moving (no matter how slight)
-fraud= use of deceit or trickery to obtain profit or advantage; People v Stay: collected shopping
carts for a finders fee, sold them when it wasn’t paid
-money rule = receiving money in good faith takes title to the money: City of Portland v Berry
-Bakalar v Vavra: drawing was not looted by Nazis
-direct taking is where thief directly takes physical possession of another person’s property
-embezzlement= to wrongfully appropriate money or property entrusted to one for
one’s own use → embezzler (unlike thief) had right to property or money
- things to consider in value of property (determines if theft is misdemeanor or felony): how
much vic paid for property, how long they had it, condition, and replacement cost, sentimental
value cannot be considered; Ceballos v State: anything of value (even contraband) can be
stolen
-husband and wife are not treated as a single entity; State v Krinnit: husband spent wife’s trust
fund check, not accessible to both spouses
-abandoned property, most states permit defense if property abandoned or if defendant had
honest reasonable belief it was; abandonment surrenders property rights; jury (question of fact)
determines if property has been abandoned or not
-property divided into: real property and personal property
-rights to property 1. Right of ownership 2. Right of possession of property (possession is
presumptive ownership)
-theft or larceny= unlawful taking of property of another with intent to deprive owner of
possession
→ a thief lacks the lawful right either to possession or to ownership of stolen
property, cannot convey lawful title to stolen property to another person
-theft or larceny requires specific intent to deprive owner of possession of property
-taking/caption= act of obtaining physical possession or control of another’s property,
unauthorized dominion over property
→ common law and some states still today require a taking and a carrying away of
stolen property; caption and moving (no matter how slight)
-fraud= use of deceit or trickery to obtain profit or advantage; People v Stay: collected shopping
carts for a finders fee, sold them when it wasn’t paid
-money rule = receiving money in good faith takes title to the money: City of Portland v Berry
-Bakalar v Vavra: drawing was not looted by Nazis
-direct taking is where thief directly takes physical possession of another person’s property
-embezzlement= to wrongfully appropriate money or property entrusted to one for
one’s own use → embezzler (unlike thief) had right to property or money
- things to consider in value of property (determines if theft is misdemeanor or felony): how
much vic paid for property, how long they had it, condition, and replacement cost, sentimental
value cannot be considered; Ceballos v State: anything of value (even contraband) can be
stolen
-husband and wife are not treated as a single entity; State v Krinnit: husband spent wife’s trust
fund check, not accessible to both spouses
-abandoned property, most states permit defense if property abandoned or if defendant had
honest reasonable belief it was; abandonment surrenders property rights; jury (question of fact)
determines if property has been abandoned or not
