The Definitions of Larceny

Derived from English common law, larceny is a term that is used in U.S. courts today to describe various types of theft. It involves the dual acts of taking and carrying away someone else's property with the intent to deprive him or her of it and to use it for the taker's own gains.

An important part of this definition is that the offender gains physical possession of the property in question. This means that, for instance, simply knocking something off a shelf could not constitute larceny if the accused did not attempt to recover it.

Moreover, the property in question must indisputably belong to someone else, and the criminal must be acting without any sort of right or claim to it (this is sometimes referred to as "felonious" intent). A randomly found object without any sort of identification would therefore be difficult to establish as the subject of larceny.

The law has an exceptionally strict view of larceny. If the accused has moved the entire property (say, an earring) from where it previously stood even by a hair, and has for even a split-second full control of it (for example, the earring is between his or her fingertips), this constitutes larceny, regardless of whether or not he or she retains control.

Again, larceny has to exist with certain provable intent. In light of the narrow grounds listed above, this intent is what keeps simply picking up an object in a store or at a friends house to examine it from being larceny.

Larceny cases in most states are divided by a property value threshold between "petty" and "grand" offenses. However, even petty larceny can do permanent damage to your record and result in significant fines and jail time if you do not do your best to fight such allegations. For help in your larceny case, contact experienced Austin criminal defense lawyer Ian Inglis by calling 800-589-1808 today.