State v. Harris

This is another appeal caused by Oregon’s outdated criminal statutes. ① We are required to draw a fine distinction between larceny and embezzlement because such a distinction was drawn by the Eighteenth Century English courts and incorporated into the Oregon statutes by Mathew Deady in Oregon’s first code. This distinction serves no purpose whatsoever in the Twentieth Century. Foley, Criminal Law — Larceny, Embezzlement, and False Pretenses — Need for a Comprehensive Theft Statute in Oregon, 41 Or L Rev 242 (1962).

The indictment charging defendant carried the notation ORS 164.310, the larceny…