Charles Walter Lund v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Rule of Law:

Under traditional larceny statutes defining theft as the taking of 'goods and chattels,' intangible property such as computer time and services are not subjects of larceny. For an item's value to meet the statutory threshold for grand larceny, its value must be its market or actual value, not the cost of the services used to create it.

Facts:

• Charles Walter Lund was a Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (V.P.I.) whose dissertation required computer use.
• Lund's faculty advisor failed to arrange for authorized access to the university's computer center.
• Without authorization, Lund used the computer by utilizing account numbers and keys assigned to other individuals and departments.
• University officials began an investigation after discovering unauthorized charges being made to various departmental accounts.
• When confronted, Lund admitted to the unauthorized use and surrendered seven keys for computer center post office boxes that were not his.
• A search of Lund's apartment recovered a large quantity of computer cards and print-outs he had generated.
• The director of the computer center estimated the cost of the unauthorized computer services Lund used was between $5,065 and $26,384.16.
• The same director testified that the physical print-outs themselves had no value beyond that of scrap paper.

Procedural Posture:

• Charles Walter Lund was charged by indictment with grand larceny.
• Lund pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a jury trial in the court of first instance.
• Following a bench trial, the trial court found Lund guilty of grand larceny.
• The trial court sentenced Lund to two years in the state penitentiary, but suspended the sentence and placed him on five years of probation.
• Lund appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court of Virginia.