Theft2014

Theft2014

• 1.
  How many ofthese can you answer? 1 mark Which act covers theft? What type of offence is it? Name one thing which is not property. Why was the property still controlled in Woodman? What is the maximum sentence for theft? 2 marks Does the property have to be lawfully owned? What was D searching for in Rostron? Name all five elements of theft. What do we mean by real property? Who still retained an interest in the property in Marshall, Coombes and Eren? 3 marks What is the importance of Turner No. 2? Explain the difference between Hall and Klineberg & Marsden When can you steal a human body? Why didn’t D have to pay it back in Gilks? Why was D not guilty in Dyke and Munro?
• 2.
  What if Dconsents? Hinks Briggs Mazo “an assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation and this includes where he has come by the property ...without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it.” This is wider than ownership… What rights does it include? Pitman & Hehl MorrisLawrence s.3 Theft Act 1968 Appropriation Atakpu BUT… Adams Gomez Which approach to choose? What about gifts? Kendrick
• 3.
  Consolidating your knowledge CaseFacts? Has there been an appropriation? Why? D took whiskey from a display stand in a supermarket and put it in his shopping bag, intending to steal it. He was stopped before he got to the payment area. McPherson D put items from the supermarket shelves in a trolley, meaning to steal them, but then changed his mind and abandoned the trolley, walking out the store. Eddy v Niman DD were carers for 99 year old Betty and took over control of her money after her daughter died. They benefited from funds and shares and claimed that they were gifts, with Betty’s consent, even if her mental capacity was failing. Hopkins & Kendrick To prove you understand what you’re doing... Apply the law on appropriation to each of these. (Aim for a case to stretch yourself in your explanation)
• 4.
  To show yourunderstanding this lesson, pick one of the three scenarios here and explain why there is liability for theft there. Remember your targets and those all important skills! A C E A clear reason, which refers to one of the elements of AR and may mention a case A clear reason, which is supported by a relevant , applied case A clear reason which addresses more than one area of the definition, and is clearly supported by well selected cases. John picks up a jacket from the sofa in the sixth form common room. It’s not his. He puts it on and walks about. He then finds a mobile phone in the pocket, and uses it to phone his aunt in the USA. Sarah finds a purse on the floor of the canteen. She opens it, but there is no identification. She asks the staff whether they recognise it. They don’t. She finds a scratchcard which won £1000 in it, and decides to keep it. Joachim is an exchange student from Germany. Joe, his exchange partner, takes him to the canteen to buy a hot chocolate. Joachim is unsure of English money and hands over a £20 note. Joe keeps the change. Plenary
• 5.
  Starter: What’s the oddone out?  Rostron  Small  Ricketts  Wain  Hall  Klineberg & Marsden  Hinks  Briggs  Kendrick  Morris  Eddy v Niman  McPherson  Kelley & Lindsay  Oxford v Moss  Smith
• 6.
  What is dishonesty? Task Youare going to see 10 scenarios. All of you need to decide whether not you would be dishonest Most of you will be asked to explain your decision Some of you will be able to come up with a test for how we tell if you are dishonest! You find an envelope on the floor and it has £100 in it. You look around and see a man disappearing in the distance. You are owed money by your employer and so when you do some extra work, you over charge them to get your money. You are from a country where, if goods are put outside a shop, you can just help yourself. You walk past a shop which has clothes on display outside it and take a pair of jeans. You are given a tea set by your aunt, and have it valued. The auctioneer tells you it is worth £10 and buys it from you. He then resells it for its actual price of £1000 You go into the common room and pick up your coat. It is not yours. You take £200 from Miss Hart’s coffee fund to feed the homeless. You are panicking about the Law Exam, and go into the library and take one of the law books, assuming the librarian would be ok with this. You take £5 from your mum’s purse to buy your lunch and travel to school. Your bag is stolen and you make a claim. In the details, you say that your phone is a better version than it was, and that you had £50 in your wallet (you only had £5) You are in supermarket and notice that they have priced your favourite chocolates at only 10p on the shelf, when they should be £10. You buy 10 packs.
• 7.
  s.2 Theft Act1968 Dishonesty So what does the law actually say? (1) A person’s appropriation of property belonging to another is not to be regarded as dishonest- (a) if he appropriates the property in the belief that he has in law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself or of a third person; or (b) if he appropriates the property in the belief that he would have the other’s consent if the other knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it; or (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. (2) A person’s appropriation of property belonging to another may be dishonest notwithstanding that he is willing to pay for the property.
• 8.
  So, what thenis dishonesty? Well, we turn to the courts… Ghosh 1. Has D been dishonest by the standards of the ordinary, honest and reasonable person? 2. If the answer is yes, then did D realise that they were dishonest by those standards? Only if the answer to both these questions is yes can D be legally dishonest.
• 9.
  Some further dishonestthoughts… No loss has to take place… Wheatley 2006 Dishonesty does have its limits… Small 1988 …and another honest mistake! Holden 1991
• 10.
  s.6 Theft Act1968 Intention to Permanently Deprive How ‘permanent’ is ‘permanent’? Does deprive just mean get rid of? What if you intend to replace the property? What if you offer to let the owner buyback their property? What if they’re going to get the property back? What if you intend to return it, and haven’t actually changed anything! What if you’re only looking for something specific?
• 11.
  Starter: Check you’ve gotthe basics… Quick test: match the section to the element, and the pictorial case clue! s.2 s.3s.5 s.6 s.4 Intention to permanently deprive Dishonesty Property Belonging to another Appropriation
• 12.
  Introduction: Theft… the keyinformation Theft
• 13.
  Apply that law! Lookat each of these situations and tell me what is wrong. Why is there no theft? 5. Jamie picks up Clive’s mobile phone. It’s identical to his. 1. Sue takes Sandra’s DVD, watches it and then puts it back. 2. Jemima is cheap and hacks into her neighbour’s electricity supply. 3. Richard picks wild flowers for his wife 6. James gives Louis £200 as a holding deposit on a holiday. 7. Ken finds £5 on the floor and keeps it. 8. Skipper looks at an exam paper. 9. Julia picks up gnomes outside garden shops to take home, just as she would in her homeland of Toadstool. 4. Paul picks up a gold watch, intending to take it, but abandons it before leaving the shop. . 10. Bob the dog takes a tennis ball from Louise’s back garden
• 14.
  AO2: Can you evaluatethis area of the law? This is interpreted very widely, only one right needs to be infringed, which means that shoplifters are guilty before leaving the shop, and even if D genuinely consents! ... It might be wide, but it is only one of the elements necessary. There are some things that can’t be stolen, and the law had stretched the meaning in establishing that sometime body parts can be property. ...however, the act provides a whole set of detailed rules on what can and cannot consitute property. They take a wider meaning than belonging – covering others who may have a proprietary right or interest in the property. ... However there are some unfair exceptions (Gilks/ AG Ref) and it is arguable whether Turner No2 sets a good example. This seems to be the most technical aspect of the law, and ignores the intentions or dishonesty of the defendant e.g. To return the money in Velymul. ...in addition, the exclusion of the ‘conditional’ intent (Easom) is out of line with the law on burglary under the same act
• 15.
  Dishonesty: A special problem? “Reasonable& honest people” Is there such a thing? It is possible for the jury to think D was not dishonest, and thus be NG, even where D was dishonest by D’s own standards! “Ghosh test is complicated!” It’s difficult for the jury to understand and therefore lead to longer and more expensive trials, even if it is only brought up where the dishonesty is in question. Lack of guidance Because it is left to the jury to decide, there are no precedents to show what kind of behaviour is dishonest within the Act This is designed to address the ‘honest mistake’ scenario, but can be easily argued and thus may result in far more appeals. The subjective element of the test The Law Commission is not much help as their response is that we live in a hetrodox and plural society
• 16.
  Final does-you-know-your-cases moment… Complete thegrid!
• 17.
  Theft
• 18.
  Introduction: Identify the issuesof law which you are going to discuss.
• 19.
  AO1 AO2 Issue:
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  AO1 AO2 Issue:
• 21.
  AO1 AO2 Issue:
• 22.
  AO1 AO2 Issue:
• 23.
  Conclusion: