Carrier's Case

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Carrier's Case (1473) was a landmark case in property crime law decided in the Star Chamber. If someone transporting merchandise on behalf of someone else and keeps the property, it constitutes a crime of larceny.^[1] The case involved a "carrier" who was hired to transport bales of cotton to the port in Southampton. Instead, the bailee took the contents for himself.^[2]

[edit] References

^ (April 1921) "Possession and Custody in the Law of Larceny". Yale Law Journal 30(6): pp. 613-617.
^ Beirne, Piers, James W. Messerschmidt (2000). Criminology. Westview Press.

The Carriers case a lot more complex than this.

The Carrier had an agreement with a foreign merchant to carry bales to Southampton. (The carrier can also be called the bailee as he is the person in possession of the goods) The merchant (also known as the bailor) had royal safe conduct covering his goods. This means, that if the goods were stolen, they would not be given to the Crown by the use of a waif. This happended in medieval times when a good was stolen. When the stolen goods were found, they became property of the King. The carrier broke open the bails and took the contents. The good came into the hands of the sherriff of London who geve the good to the King by waif. The merchant sued for the goods saying that the goods were not stolen and that the carreier had temporary propety rights over them and therefore the goods cannot be given to the king. The sheriffs defence was that the carrier had committed a felony and therefore the goods were forefit to the king. Despite the fact that the carrier had temporary possession of the goods with permission of the merchant, he had 'broken bulk'. i.e. he had broken up the bails and then sold them. the fact that he broke bulk shows the intention to commit felony. he was therefore guilty and hence the goods were forfitted to the king. however, due to the royal safe conduct that the merchant had, he got his goods back anyway.