Davies v. Commonwealth
Court of Appeals of Virginia
15 Va.App. 350, 423 S.E.2d 839 (1999)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Ralph Donald Davies (defendant) opened credit accounts at two stores under a fictitious name. Store cashiers accepted that credit as payment for video and stereo equipment worth more than $2000, and allowed Davies to go home with his purchases. When this came to light, the Commonwealth of Virginia (plaintiff) prosecuted Davies for grand larceny by false pretenses. At trial, Davies asked the judge to instruct the jurors that a conviction required them to find that Davies fraudulently took both "possession of and title to" the video and stereo equipment. The judge instructed the jurors only that a conviction required proof that Davies obtained possession of the equipment. The jury convicted Davies and he appealed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia, citing Baker v. Commonwealth, 300 S.E.2d 788 (1983), in support of his contention that the jury instruction's lack of any reference to the passage of title constituted reversible error. In Baker, a conviction for larceny by false pretenses was reversed because the jury was not instructed that passage of title was an element of the crime.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Koontz, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
