Theft - Criminal Law PDF

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Tutorial work from the Criminal Law module at Queen's University Belfast for the academic year 2017/18. This work contains key cases, statutes, and academic commentary. Additionally, this work has been annotated and highlighted to aid revision and prevent monotony. ...

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9:#Theft Saturday,#13#January#2018

16:59

Answers'and'Notes Preliminary'thoughts'on'the'Theft'Act'(Northern'Ireland'1969): Why$was$this$statute$enacted? It#seems#clear#that#this#statute#is#enacted#as#one#of#criminal#consequences#as#a# deterrent#to#persons#wishing#to#steal.# The#reason,#perhaps,#to#opt#for#criminalising# theft#as#opposed#to#making#it#a#tort#is# to#the#level#of#punishment#that#entails#either#aspect#of#the#law.#People#who#steal# may#take#their#chances#on#being#sued,#so#to#speak.#A#monetary#burden#is#not#as# severe#as#that#of#criminal#liabilty. Theft'Act'(Northern'Ireland)'1969: Makes#criminal#law#provisions#in#Northern# Ireland#similar#to#those#made#in#England#and#Wales#by#the#Theft#Act#1968. Section'1(1)'basic'definition'of'theft: A$person$is$guilty$of$theft$if$he$dishonestly$appropriates$property$belonging$to$ another$with$the$intention$of$permanently$depriving$the$other$of$it;$and$“thief”$and$ “steal”$shall$be$construed$accordingly. Five'elements'of'theft: 1.#Appropriation 2.#Property# 3.#Belonging#to#another 4.#Dishonesty 5.#Intention#to#permanently#deprive Actus'Reus: • Appropriation

• Appropriation • Property • Belonging#to#another Mens'Rea: • Dishonesty • Intention#of#permanently#depriving

Elements'of'the'offence'and'case-law'to'showcase'these'elements: Appropriation'(to'make'ones'own):' Morris&[1983]&3&WLR&697:& Defendant's#switched#labels#of#an#item#of#clothing#to#get#it#for#cheaper,# convicted#of#theft. Held: Original#owners#of#the#clothing#had#a#right#to#sell#the#clothes#for#a#price#that# they#wished;#the#defendants#usurped#this#right.#This'amounted'to'an' assumption'of'the'owners'rights'and'thus'appropriation. By'assumption,'we'mean'handling'the'stolen'items'as'only'the'owner'could' (touching,'selling,''destroying,'pawning'etc.)

Appropriation'and'consent'of'the'owner:'WITH'TAXI'FARES'- ONLY'LEGAL' AMOUNT'SHOULD'BE'TAKEN Lawrence&[1972]&AC&626: Italian#student#took#taxi#ride#that#amounted#to#about#50p.#Taxi#driver#said#the# fare#cost#more#and#took#£1#and#a#£5#note#from#the#students#open#wallet.#Taxi# driver#was#convicted#of#theft#and#appealed#to#the#HoL. Held: Defendant#argued#the#money#can#not#be#stolen#as#the#victim#consented#to# the#money#being#taken#by#him.#Conviction'upheld,'student'only'consented' to'the'legal'amount'taken.

Questions: 1

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1. • • •

Actus'Reus'of'theft: Appropriation#(s.3)#; Of#Property#(s.4)#; Belonging#to#another#(s.5).

Mens'Rea • Dishonesty#(s.2); • Intention#to#permanently#deprive#(s.6).

Duncan#appropriated#the#change#of#£9,#£5#of#which#is#the#property#(s.4&(1)&of&Theft& Act&NI&1969)'belonging#to#another#mistakenly:## s#5(4)#Where#a#person#gets#property#by#another’s#mistake,#and#is#under#an# obligation#to#make#restoration#(in#whole#or#in#part)#of#the#property#or#its# proceeds#or#of#the#value#thereof,#then,#to#the#extent#of#that#obligation,#the# property#or#proceeds#shall#be#regarded#(as#against#him)#as#belonging#to#the# person#entitled#to#restoration#and#an'intention'not'to'make'restoration'shall' be'regarded'accordingly'as'an'intention'to'deprive'that'person'of'the' property'or'proceeds. 2. Dick#is#not#guilty#of#theft,#via# Oxford'v'Moss (1979)'QBD D#a#university#student#obtained#a#copy#of#an#examination#paper#read#it#and# then#replaced#it.#It#was#never#his#intention#to#take#the#paper#away#or#deprive# the#university#of#it.# Held:#Confidential'information'held'on'a'piece'of'paper'could'not'amount' to'intangible'property'according'to'the'true'interpretation'of's'4'of'the' Theft'Act'1968. As#for#satisfying#the#requirements#of#theft,#Dick#did#dishonestly'appropriate something#belonging'to'another,#however#that#thing#did#not#amount#to# intangible'property according#to#the#true#interpretation#of#s#4#Theft#Act#1968.# Moreover,#Dick#had#no intention'to'permanently'deprive'the#University#of# the#examination. 3. Relevant#case:# Lloyd,&R&v [1985]&CA D#a#projectionist#at#a#cinema#secretly#borrowed#films#and#lent#them#to#friends# who made illegal copies of them The films were returned after a few hours

who#made#illegal# copies#of#them.#The#films#were#returned#after#a#few#hours# undamaged#to#the#cinema#in#time#for#the#performance. Held:#Borrowing#property#could#only#amount#to#"intending#to#permanently# deprive#the#owner#of#it"#if#the#intention#of#the#borrower#was#to#return#the# property#in#such#a#changed#state#that#it#had#lost#all#its#practical#value.#The# cinema#could#still#show#the#films#to#the#public. Thus,#as#Daniel#borrowed#the#DVD#player#and#returned#it#broken#i.e.#in'a' state'so'damaged'that'it'had'lost'all'its'goodness'or'virtue,'this'satisfies'the' element'on intention'to'permanently'deprive and#so#Daniel#is#liable'for' theft,#as#he#satisfies#all#other#elements.#He#is#not,#however,#liable#for#theft#for# the#copying#of#the#DVD's. 4. David#and#Donald#would#be#guilty#of: s.12&Theft&Act&(Northern&Ireland)&[1969]:&Taking&a&vehicle&without&authority:& (2$)Subject$to$subsection$(7),$a$person$shall$be$guilty$of$an$offence$if,$without$ having$the$consent$of$the$owner$or$other$lawful$authority,$he$takes$any$ conveyance$for$his$own$or$another's$use$or,$knowing$that$any$conveyance$has$ been$taken$without$such$authority,$drives$it$or$allows$himself$to$be$carried$in$ or$on$it. 5. Derek#has#dishonestly'appopriated'property'belonging'to'another,#with#the# intention'to'permanently'deprive. The#aspect#of#intention#is#the#difficulty#here,#but#that#can#be#seen#in#Vinall& [2012],&where#the#Court#of#Appeal#clarified#that#s.#6#(1): 'Did#not#require#that#the#thing#had#been#disposed#of,#nor#that#the#defendant# intended#to#dispose#of#it#in#a#particular#way…#[but#whether#D]#exercised#such# dominion#over#the#property#that#it#could#be#inferred#that#at#the#time#of#the# taking#he#intended#to#treat#the#property#as#his#own#to#dispose#of#regardless# of#the#owner's#rights'. 6. Initially,#Doris#did#not#commit#theft#when#she#found#the#property.#Although# the#gold#watch#was#appropriated,#it#was#done#so#honestly.#Moreover,##Theft# Act#(Northern#Ireland)#[1969]#s.2#(1)#c#states#that: (1)A person's appropriation of property belonging to another is not to be regarded as dishonest—

(c)(except where the property came to him as trustee or personal representative) if he appropriates the property in the belief that the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps.

However,#once#Doris#grew#to#like#the#watch#and#became#aware#of#the# opportunity#to#return#it,#Doris#went#against#s.2#(1)#(c#)#and#thus#dishonestly did#so.#Corollary#to#this,#s.#3#(1)#states:# Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as owner.

Tutorial'Notes: 1. Is#omission#appropriation? Keeping#- s#(3)#Theft#Act#[Northern#Ireland]#1969#any$later$assumption$of$a$right$to$it$by$keeping$or$dealing$with$it$as$owner. Cases'for'question'one:' AG&Ref&1&[1983]&- 'A#legal#obligation#to#return#money#received#by#mistake' 2. Key#here#is#information#- is#information#property#under#s.4#?#No INFORMATION'DOES'NOT'AMOUNT'TO'PROPERTY'FOR'S.4'THEFT'ACT. Use'Oxford'v'Moss (1979)'QBD' 3. Three'things'under'consideration:'(key'issue'here'is's.6) Copy:#In#itself#isn't#theft##- it's#a#different#offence. DVD:'No#liability#of#theft#if#property#was#not#damaged#and#returned#as#it#was# (borrow)Use#Lloyd to#support#this Broken'DVD'player:#Velumyl&supports#the#case#law#that#return#items#in#a# broken#state#amounts#to#intention'to'deprive. Mens'Rea:' • Dishonestly?$ The&so-called&Ghosh&test: "A#jury#must#first#of#all#decide#whether#according#to#the#ordinary#standards#of# reasonable#and#honest#people#what#was#done#was#dishonest…#if#it#was# di h t th th j t id h th th d f d t hi lf t

dishonest…#then#the#jury#must#consider#whether#the#defendant#himself#must# have#realised#that#what#he#was#doing#was#by#those#standards#dishonest" Two-stage'test: Both'objective'(where'D's'actions'dishonest'by'the'current'standards'of' ordinary'decent'people?)'and'subjective'(IF'SO,'did'D'realise'that'his'actions' were,'by'those'standards,'dishonest?)

RECENT'DEVELOPMENT'ON'GHOSH'TEST:'Ivey&v&Genting&Casinos&(UL)&[2017]& UKSC The&'Ghosh'&test&has&'serious&problems'&and&does¬&correctly&represent& law. "Although$a$dishonest$state$of$mind$is$a$subjective$mental$state,$the$standard$ by$which$the$law$determines$whether$it$is$dishonest$is$objective.$If$by$ordinary$ standards$$a$defendants$mental$state$would$be$characterised$as$dishonest,$it& is&irrelevant&that&the&defendant&judges&by&different&standards.& 4. Key'issue'here'is'intention&to&permanently&deprive The#fact#the#car#was#abandoned#does#not#make#it#clear#whether#it#is#an# intention#to#permanently#deprive.# Like#the#previous#answer#- use#Velumyl&&to#support#the#fundamentally# different#state#of#property#which#amounts#to#intention#to#permanently# deprive.# 5. In#this#scenario#it's#important#to#link#appropriation with#intention'to' permanently'deprive.# Conditional&Intention:&&Eason& Appropriation must&be&accompanied&with&intention&to&permanently&deprive. Therefore,#not#liable#of#theft. 6. Again,#use#the#Ghosh#test#here: Mens'Rea:' • Dishonestly?$ The&so-called&Ghosh&test: "A#jury#must#first#of#all#decide#whether#according#to#the#ordinary#standards#of# reasonable#and#honest#people#what#was#done#was#dishonest…#if#it#was# dishonest then the jury must consider whether the defendant himself must

dishonest…#then#the#jury#must#consider#whether#the#defendant#himself#must# have#realised#that#what#he#was#doing#was#by#those#standards#dishonest" Two-stage'test: Both'objective'(where'D's'actions'dishonest'by'the'current'standards'of' ordinary'decent'people?)'and'subjective'(IF'SO,'did'D'realise'that'his'actions' were,'by'those'standards,'dishonest?)

RECENT'DEVELOPMENT'ON'GHOSH'TEST:'Ivey&v&Genting&Casinos&(UL)&[2017]& UKSC The&'Ghosh'&test&has&'serious&problems'&and&does¬&correctly&represent& law. "Although$a$dishonest$state$of$mind$is$a$subjective$mental$state,$the$standard$ by$which$the$law$determines$whether$it$is$dishonest$is$objective.$If$by$ordinary$ standards$$a$defendants$mental$state$would$be$characterised$as$dishonest,$it& is&irrelevant&that&the&defendant&judges&by&different&standards.&...