Criminal Law Theft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal Law Theft - Essay ExampleAn appropriation of property would go by when a somebody assumes the rights of an owner3 and resorts to keeping or dealing with it as an owner.4 In Rias case the actus reus may be established, because (a) the property in head word are the cods, because property would include money and all other property, real or personal5 (b) they belong to the manger and Sonia respectively, because they facilitate drawing on credit accounts in their respective names and are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act of 19746 (c) Ria has appropriated the cards and used them as if they belonged to her. It may not steady be necessary to establish that the taking occurred without the consent of the owners.7 Even a temporary appropriation of property8 or accepting anothers property as a gift can amount to appropriation.9Where the managers card is concerned, Ria cannot argue that because she is also a staff member, she has a right to use the card and is thereby not guilty o f theft.10 Ria could try and use the defense of consent, i.e that the manager would have granted consent to use of the card11, but a taking, even with consent, dummy up amounts to an appropriation12 especially if such consent was obtained through fraudulent means.13 In the case of R v Morris14 theft was established when price labels on the products were changed to allow the suspect to purchase the product at a lower price. In this case, Lord Roskill stated that the concept of appropriation also includes an act by way of indecent interference with or usurpation of the owners rights.15 This was later disapproved in the case of R v Gomez16 where the House of Lords stated that appropriation can occur even in a case where the owner has consented to allow possession of the property by another, if such consent has been obtained through false representation17.Ria would be criminally liable because it is not only actus reus but also the mens rea which can be