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[quote name="Mysterio"][quote] gnicholas 1 hour ago | parent | prev | next [–] Question: someone steals your car and you go to take it back. When you drive off with it, the thief's backpack/laptop/etc. are in the back seat. Can you now be prosecuted for theft? Obviously most people wouldn't want to hang around long enough to fully inspect the vehicle to make sure they're not taking anything that doesn't belong to them! My inkling, as a former lawyer, is that this would not be theft if you didn't know the item was there. Crimes require a certain mental state, and theft typically requires that you be aware that you're taking a thing that doesn't belong to you. If you leave a restaurant and unknowingly take someone else's umbrella from the bin instead of your own, you cannot be found guilty of theft. If you do know the items are there, you could be found guilty. Of course, the practical reality is that you don't want to give a criminal any reason to come back to your house, hunting for his belongings. reply nwiswell 31 minutes ago | root | parent | next [–] > My inkling, as a former lawyer, is that this would not be theft if you didn't know the item was there Not theft, but still conversion. The thief could sue you for the value of the items. When a car is repossessed the chattels (personal items) have to be returned to avoid liability. There is case law establishing that if you tell the repo agent you have stuff in the trunk and he drives off anyway, that's prima facie conversion (monetary liability) regardless of whether they try to return the items later. reply retrac 1 hour ago | root | parent | prev | next [–] IANAL either but the mens rea doesn't exist, right. There's also another angle: if I opened up your car and tossed my backpack in knowing it's a random stranger's car that might not be there when I get back, I have abandoned my property and have no claim against the car's owner. (It's more complicated with an honest mistake, though.) reply Teever 1 hour ago | root | parent | prev | next [–] I would imagine that legally speaking that it is no different than the situation an Uber driver faces when someone leaves their backpack/laptop/etc. in their car. reply goodpoint 38 minutes ago | root | parent | prev | next [–] > When you drive off with it, the thief's backpack/laptop/etc. are in the back seat. Or even much worse, and you get blamed for the item and go to prison. reply [/quote] Zillions of shut-in nerds, frothing at the thought of being able to reply with something they learned from the internet, their little internet factoids. And do not sleep on the question-asker, asking a tedious, stupid question, the kind of question one asks if they have never been outside. [/quote]