Obtaining property by false pretenses

This is an offense which means pretty much what it says. It is a statutory offense which may be either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the value of the property falsely obtained. The property these statutes refer to is what one court has described as "personal, movable things", not real estate. The "false pretense" may range from clear misrepresentation or fraud to simply writing a bad check. The person making the false statement must do so, intending to defraud, and the false statement must be one of fact, not of opinion. The grocer who sells you a sack of what he calls and labels Idaho potatoes, when in fact the potatoes were grown in his own field in New Hampshire, is guilty of the offense of taking your money under false pretenses. But if he says he believes a sack of potatoes is from Idaho without being certain, the statement is merely one of opinion, and he has committed no offense against you. No offense is committed if you buy a horse on the assurance that he runs fast when in fact he's awfully slow. Such a statement is mere "puffing", which all salesmen are expected to indulge in and which you should learn to guard against.

It is an offense to obtain property by writing a check when you know you have no funds in your bank account or when you know you have insufficient funds to cover the check. Banks expect occasional overdrawals and seldom do more than charge a penalty, but intentional persistent overdrawals may expose the drawer to criminal charges.

Some states in recent years have combined the offenses of larceny, embezzlement and false pretenses under the heading of theft. Your lawyer will advise you of your state's statutes.

Reading supplement the monarchy

The United Kingdom is a monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its head of state. In law, the monarch is the supreme authority, an integral part of Parliament (legislative power), head of the system of justice (the judiciary), commander-in-chief of the armed forces and temporal governor of the Church of England. But, in practice, the monarch has very little power, as they say, "Monarchs reign, but they do not rule in England".

The UK is one of six constitutional monarchies within the European Community. By statute and convention, the monarch may not be of Roman Catholic faith, nor marry someone of that faith. The title to the throne passes to the male line of the family in order of descent.

Although many people consider the monarchy to be a somewhat anachronistic and undemocratic institution, the queen continues to enjoy the support of the considerable majority of the English people, and she fulfills certain important and useful functions. She carries out important ceremonious duties; she also acts as a "unifying force" in both the constitution and the nation. She has regular meetings with successive Prime Ministers and numerous foreign leaders, and she is a very well informed person.

Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country. They meet on such symbolic occasions as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. Opening Parliament, the queen delivers a speech in which she describes a future policy of “her government”, but the speech itself is made up and written by the Prime Minister.