State v. Shaw

Henry Shaw and others (defendants) were indicted for grand larceny after stealing fish contained in two nets. The fish had been caught and confined securely enough that the defendants were confident they could simply take the nets with the fish already inside them. The trial court directed a verdict of not guilty on the theory that because the fish's confinement did not make escape absolutely impossible, the fish remained wild animals at large and could not be the subject of larceny, and the State appealed.