personal property was subject to the common law crime of larceny.
what types of property were subject to the common law crime of larceny?
personal
historically, various states listed the act of suicide as a felony, but these policies were sparsely enforced. in the late 1960s, eighteen u.s. states had no laws against suicide. by the late 1980s, thirty of the fifty states had no laws against suicide or suicide attempts but every state had laws declaring it to be a felony to aid, advise or encourage another person to die by suicide. by the early 1990s only two states still listed suicide as a crime, and these have since removed that classification. in some u.s. states, suicide is still considered an unwritten "common law crime," as stated in blackstone's commentaries. (so held the virginia supreme court in 1992. "wackwitz v. roy", 418 s.e.2d 861 (va. 1992)). as a common law crime, suicide can bar recovery for the late suicidal person's family in a lawsuit unless the suicidal person can be proven to have been "of unsound mind." that is, the suicide must be proven to have been an involuntary act of the victim in order for the family to be awarded monetary damages by the court. this can occur when the family of the deceased sues the caregiver (perhaps a jail or hospital) for negligence in failing to provide appropriate care. some american legal scholars look at the issue as one of personal liberty. according to nadine strossen, former president of the aclu, "the idea of government making determinations about how you end your life, forcing you...could be considered cruel and unusual punishment in certain circumstances, and justice stevens in a very interesting opinion in a right-to-die [case] raised the analogy."
suicide legislation
for example, the common law crime of larceny requires the taking and carrying away of tangible property from another person, with the intent of permanently depriving the owner of that property. robbery, under the common law, requires all of the same elements as well as the use of force or intimidation to accomplish the taking. therefore, larceny is a lesser included offense in the offense of robbery, as every robbery includes a larcenous act as part of the crime. assault is also a lesser included offense of robbery, just as false imprisonment is usually a lesser included offense of kidnapping. however, an offense will not be a lesser included offense if it carries a maximum penalty greater than that carried by the charged offense.
lesser included offense