ARSON-STATUTORY CHANCE OF COMMON LAW REQUISITES

Authors

Abstract

At common Jaw, arson was a clearly defined felony, including only certain kinds of burnings. According to Lord Coke, it was the malicious and voluntary burning!' of the house of another by night or by day, 3 INST. 66. There were certain well-understood essentials constituting the crime. The structure must have been a house or an out-house; it must have been the house of another; it must have been inhabited, though not actually occupied, at the time of the burning. The structure must have been a completed one; there must have been an actual burning-at least to the extent of charring the wood. The burning must have been caused maliciously or with general criminal intent. CLARK, CRIMINAL LAW, 3d ed., pp. 287-290. The crime was regarded as being against the possession rather than against the property, and for purposes of indictment the occupant could be alleged as the owner, even though the house was actually owned by another. CLARK, supra, p. 290.

Recommended Citation

ARSON-STATUTORY CHANCE OF COMMON LAW REQUISITES, 25 Mich. L. Rev. 450 (1927).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol25/iss4/9