In Auburn California, one man was charged with larceny for giving 240,000 pounds of asphalt to his contractor friend; it wasn't long before the jury acquitted him of his charge. His attorney allegedly said that the verdict was not a surprise to those who knew the man. Have you been charged with larceny? Do you believe you are innocent and don't know where to turn or how to prove this? An experienced attorney is vital to an acquittal and may use some of the defensive tactics that have been known to be legal grounds for dismantling a charge.

Larceny is a violation in which a convicted criminal takes belongings or property which are not lawfully theirs; in 2005, approximately 6.8 million larceny offenses were committed in the United States. While many know of the more common word as theft, other states label it as larceny. Each jurisdiction has their own court of law where their rules and regulations differ from their bordering states. Due to this constitutional law, if someone commits larceny in one state and the theft in another, each state will have their own system and regulations which deal with the charged crimes. Some states categorize theft or larceny offenses into two different categories: petty and grand theft. Other states break down these offenses into smaller categories which include first, second, and third degree offenses.

If you have been accused of larceny or theft, there are many different tactics that your attorney may use in order to express or prove your innocence. Yet first, there may be another means of expunging larceny off of your record should it be a first offense of petty theft. Sometimes, the stolen merchandise may be returned to its proper owner therefore rendering the crime as never happening; other times an attorney may prove that larceny never happened should the property that was stolen be that of an estranged spouse's. This defense may not work should the spouse’s not be estranged and are living together: in this case a different charge will be ensued called a designation of misappropriation of marital property. There are also less valid grounds that a defendant may choose to pursue. Some defendant's choose to use a defense that the stolen merchandise was illicit; in many cases this defense is not worth pursuing since it does not prove that the merchandise was not stolen. Here are four defenses that your attorney may be able to use to acquit you:

• Good faith ownership;
• Entrapment;
• Validity upon consent; and
• Duress

Good faith ownership is the defense that the person charged of larceny or theft had a claim to the property that was cited as stolen. This defense may be used even if the claim was not considered reasonable; if your attorney may prove that you believed that the property was your own, then the chances of being acquitted are high, though this may be difficult to prove.

Entrapment is a defensive plea where an attorney must prove that the defendant had no prior interest or reason to commit the crime, but was forced to through another party. Usually an official will be cited as the dishonest party who convinced the defendant to take the goods. Another defensive tactic used is validity or consent from the owner of the stolen goods. If the owner of the stolen goods informed you that you were able to take the objects presented, then larceny did not take place. Often, the owner of the goods will ask someone to take their merchandise in order to make a fraudulent insurance claim; if this is what happened to you, and you were unaware of this, you are not legally punitive for the unlawful actions.

The last defense that could be used in a court is that of duress; this must be proved by a skilled attorney who can show the jury that the stolen goods was taken due to another person blackmailing or threatening you. If this has happened to you, it is beneficial to seek legal advice as soon as can be; in America, charged is not convicted until a jury has made it official. Seek out legal counsel today.