Theft Flashcards
(35 cards)
D may be liable for theft, defined in
section 1 of the theft act 1986, as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.
The actus reus is the
dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another.
appropriation can be a
straightforward outright taking. also, under s.3(1) it means the assumption of the rights of the owner, and can take place even when the property is innocently acquired, if D then keeps/deals with it.
IF RELEVANT: appropriation can take place even with consent,
if there is deception, as in lawrence.
IF RELEVANT: appropriation can take place even when there is a gift
made with consent and without deception, if it is obtained through coercion, as in hinks.
IF RELEVANT: appropriation can take place even if d leaves the property behind
having taken it, as in corcoran and anderton.
IF RELEVANT: appropriation can take place through
label swapping, as in morris.
Here appropriation takes place outright and under
s.3(1) when…
under s.4(1), property can be
tangible such as personal property, money and real property (eg land and buildings) or intangible such as things in action (eg cheque, debt, bank account) and patents.
things that don’t constitute property include under
s.4(3) mushrooms, flowers, foliage and fruit that has been picked from the wild for reward or sale,
under s.4(4)
wild creatures unless in captivity, confidential information as in oxford v moss, and bodies/body parts unless used for exhibition/teaching purposes as in kelly and lindsay.
here the property
is…
under s.5(1) property belonging to another means
the victim has possession or control of it.
IF RELEVANT: under s.5(3) if a person is under an obligation to retain and deal with property in a particular way
that property is regarded as belonging to another, as in davidge v bunnett, and hall.
IF RELEVANT: under s.5(4) if a person is given something by mistake,
keeping it is keeping property belonging to another as the victim has a ‘proprietary interest’ as in webster.
IF RELEVANT: an owner can be convicted of
stealing their own property, if it is temporarily in the possession of another, as in turner.
IF RELEVANT: a person can be in control of property even though they
do not know it is there, such as abandoned property as in woodman.
here, the property did belong to another
because…
for the mens rea, under s.2 d must be
dishonest. the 2 stage test established in ivey v genting casinos is used. firstly the jury must decide what was the actual knowledge or belief of D as to the facts, and secondly, in that context, the jury must decide whether d’s behaviour would be regarded as dishonest by the reasonable, ordinary, decent person.
here a reasonable ordinary, decent person would view d’s actions as
dishonest because…
a person’s appropriation will not be dishonest if under s.2(1)(a)
there was the honest belief that he has a legal right to it, as in small
under s.2(1)(b)
there was an honest belief that the owner would consent,
under s.2(1)(c)
there was was an honest belief that the owner cannot be found by taking reasonable steps. the honest belief does not have to be reasonable belief, just honest.
here d honestly believed that
v would consent to him using his…