Regina v. Thurborn
Court for Crown Cases Reserved
169 Eng. Rep. 293 (1848)
Relevant factsFree
Thurborn (defendant) found a dropped, unmarked money note on the road with no way to identify the true owner and decided to keep it for himself. The next day, Thurborn learned who the note belonged to but, instead of returning it, exchanged the note for cash and kept the money. Thurborn was convicted of larceny by a jury and appealed.
IssueFree
Whether it is larceny for a person to take and convert to his own use property he reasonably believes to be lost, unmarked, and untraceable to its owner.