Editing Larceny (section)

===Possession versus custody===
Larceny is a crime against possession. Furthermore, it has two elements which must be met: the actual taking of the property, even if momentarily (''[[actus reus]]''), and the culpable intent (''[[mens rea]]'') to deprive another of their property. Larceny involves the [[trespass]]ory taking of property from possession of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of that property.<ref name="CL">''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, [[Wolters Kluwer Law & Business]]; [[John Kaplan (law professor)|John Kaplan]], [[Robert Weisberg]], [[Guyora Binder]], {{ISBN|978-1-4548-0698-1}}, [https://law.stanford.edu/publications/criminal-law-cases-and-materials-7th-edition/ law.stanford.edu]</ref>{{rp|945}} To understand larceny, one must understand the distinction between custody and possession.<ref name="Joshua Dressler 2001">[[Joshua Dressler]], Understanding Criminal Law, 3rd ed. (Lexis 2001) {{ISBN|0-8205-5027-2}}</ref>

* A person has possession of property when he has actual physical control over the property (actual possession) or he has the right to exercise considerable control over the disposition or use of the property (constructive possession).
*A person has custody if he has actual physical control of the property, but the person who has constructive possession has substantially restricted the custodian's right to use the property.<ref name="Joshua Dressler 2001"/>

Examples of custody would be a store customer examining the goods of a merchant, or an employee who has been given the property of his employer to be used in his employment. This is to be contrasted to, for example, a person who has obtained actual possession of the property by fraud.

Ancient [[Roman law]] (first 50 years of written University law, possibly borrowing from Greek law there is no copy of) was more lax about "simple possession"; it was assumed "borrowing" if there was no one to ask: unless or until other factors arose (such as refusal to return promptly when asked).