§708-834 Defenses: unawareness of ownership; claim of right; household belongings; co-interest not a defense. (1) It is a defense to a prosecution for theft that the defendant: (a) Was unaware that the property or service was that of another; or (b) Believed that the defendant was entitled to the property or services under a claim of right or that the defendant was authorized, by the owner or by law, to obtain or exert control as the defendant did. (2) If the owner of the property is the defendant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, it is a defense to a prosecution for theft of property that: (a) The property which is obtained or over which unauthorized control is exerted constitutes household belongings; and (b) The defendant and the defendant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary were living together at the time of the conduct. (3) "Household belongings" means furniture, personal effects, vehicles, money or its equivalent in amounts customarily used for household purposes, and other property usually found in and about the common dwelling and accessible to its occupants. (4) In a prosecution for theft, it is not a defense that the defendant has an interest in the property if the owner has an interest in the property to which the defendant is not entitled. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1979, c 106, §8; am L 1980, c 232, §41; gen ch 1993; am L 1997, c 383, §69]
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