R v Turner (No 2)
A person can steal his own property from someone who has possession or control of it.
Facts
Mr Turner left his car at a garage for repairs. When the repairs were almost finished, he came back to the garage and, using a spare key, drove the car away without paying for the repairs. He was convicted of stealing the car. He argued that he could not steal his own car.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction. Under section 5(1) of the Theft Act 1968, property is regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having any proprietary right or interest in it. The garage had possession and control of the car, so it belonged to the garage for the purposes of theft, even though Mr Turner owned it. The court said that it was not necessary to consider whether the garage had a lien over the car.
Related cases on theft, robbery, burglary and fraud
- Attorney General's Reference (No 1 of 1983) [1985] QB 182
- Corcoran v Anderton (1980) 71 Cr App R 104
- Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd [2017] UKSC 67, [2018] AC 391
- Lawrence v Metropolitan Police Commissioner [1972] AC 626
- Oxford v Moss (1979) 68 Cr App R 183
- R v Barton and Booth [2020] EWCA Crim 575, [2021] QB 685
- R v Collins [1973] QB 100
- R v Ghosh [1982] QB 1053
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