New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer - NJ: Theft Crimes and Offenses in New Jersey

New Jersey considers a person guilty of theft if he unlawfully takes, or exercises unlawful control over, movable property of another with purpose to deprive him thereof. In order for the State to obtain a conviction, it must convince the trier of fact of each “element” of the offense.

This convincing must be by the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Here are the elements that New Jersey must prove by that standard:

1. The defendant knowingly took or unlawfully exercised control over movable property;

2. The movable property was property of another;

3. The defendant's purpose in taking the property was to deprive the other person of it.

We turn first to the first element that New Jersey must prove, that defendant knowingly took or exercised unlawful control over movable property. Note that the State need not prove that the property was carried out of the place in which it was kept. The State need only prove that it was moved or taken from its original location OR that defendant exercised unlawful control over it. A defendant can exercise control over property even if he is not able actually move or remove it.

New Jersey defines “property” to mean anything of value. This includs tangible and intangible personal property, trade secrets, contract rights, choses in action and other interests in or claims to wealth, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric, gas, steam or other power, financial instruments, information, data, and computer software, in either human readable or computer readable form, copies or originals. Movable property means property the location of which can be changed. This includs things growing on, affixed to, or found in land. It includes documents, although the rights represented thereby have no physical location. For comparison purposes, “immovable property” is all other property.

Defendant must knowingly take or exercise unlawful control over the movable property. New Jersey law holds that a person acts “knowingly” with respect to the nature of his conduct or the attendant circumstances if he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist or if he is aware of a high probability of their existence. A person acts knowingly with respect to the result of his conduct if he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result. “Knowingly,” is a state of mind. Because knowledge is a condition of the mind, it cannot be seen. It can be determined only by inferences from conduct, words, or acts. A state of mind is rarely susceptible of direct proof. Rather, it will ordinarily be

Criminal Defense Lawyer in New Jersey for persons arrested or charged with theft

inferred from the facts. Therefore, it is not necessary that the State of New Jersey produce witnesses to testify that an accused said that he had a certain state of mind when he engaged in a particular act. A jury can find that such proof has by inference been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt. This inference may arise from the nature of the defendant's acts and conduct, from all that he said and did at the particular time and place, and from all surrounding circumstances.

The second element that New Jersey must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the movable property is “property of another.” Property of another includes property in which any person other than the defendant has an interest, and which the defendant is not privileged to infringe. It could even be property in which the defendant himself also has an interest. It can be property in which the other person might be precluded from civil recovery because the property was used in an unlawful transaction or was subject to forfeiture as contraband. However, property in the possession of the actor shall not be deemed property of one who has only a security interest therein, even if legal title is in the creditor pursuant to a conditional sales contract or other security agreement. New Jersey defines the term “property of another” broadly, so as to include services and intangibles, anything of value. “Anything of value” is defined as any direct or indirect gain or advantage to any person.

The third element that New Jersey must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant's purpose was to deprive the other person of the movable property. The word “purpose” means that it is the person's conscious object to commit the theft, or cause the theft to be committed. A person acts purposely with respect to attendant circumstances if he is aware of the existence of such circumstances or he believes or hopes that they exist. “With purpose,” “designed,” “with design,” or equivalent terms, have the same meaning.

“Purpose,” like “knowledge,” is a state of mind. As indicated above, states of mind cannot be seen. They can be determined only by inference from conduct, words or acts. Therefore, the law does not require that New Jersey produce witnesses to testify that a defendant said that he “purposely” did something. His purpose may be gathered from his acts and conduct, from all that he said and did at the particular time and place, and from all the surrounding circumstances reflected in the testimony and adduced at trial. If your lawyer can establish a purpose other than to deprive another of property, then there was no theft.

To “deprive” includes withholding or causing to be withheld property of another permanently. But it also includes withholding for so extended a period as to appropriate a substantial portion of its economic value. And it includes purpose to restore only upon payment of reward or other compensation. It can also include disposing or causing disposal of the property so as to make it unlikely that the owner will recover it.

All theft offenses in New Jersey are serious. Even when a jail sentence is unlikely, a person

Theft charges need New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer

convicted of theft is branded as a person who cannot be trusted. Employment doors will close. Educational doors will close. Landlords will refuse to rent. If you are not a United States citizen, a theft conviction can cause serious difficulties in obtaining citizenship. It can even cause you to be removed from the country.

The person convicted of theft will suffer. So will his family. For these reasons, if you are charged with any kind of theft, including shoplifting, get a lawyer. The consequences of a conviction will haunt you for many years and, possibly, a lifetime.