Burns v. State

Constable Burns (defendant) and other officers pursuing an insane man named Adamsky came into possession of money Adamsky had dropped during the chase, given to Burns by a fellow officer; Burns later misappropriated the money for himself and was charged with larceny by bailee. The trial judge instructed the jury that Burns was a "bailee" of the money without further defining that term, and the jury convicted Burns; he appealed, arguing the term should have been specifically defined and that his real offense (breaking open the money's container and using its contents) was a different crime than larceny by bailee.