Legal Definitions - claim of right

A claim of right is a legal defense used by a defendant who asserts that they took property under the honest but mistaken belief that they had a superior right to it. This defense was commonly used in theft cases and could also be used in cases of bigamy if the defendant believed that their previous marriage had been legally dissolved.

For example, if someone took a car that they believed was rightfully theirs because they had made payments on it, but it turned out that they had missed a payment and the car was repossessed, they could use a claim of right defense.

However, the claim of right defense has been replaced by the defense of honesty, which is a broader defense that covers situations where the defendant honestly believed that their actions were legal or justified.

In addition to being used as a defense in criminal cases, a claim of right can also refer to an owner's action to recover land that was unjustly taken from them. This could be done by employing a writ of course, which was a legal document that allowed the owner to reclaim their property.

For example, if someone built a fence on their neighbor's land without permission, the neighbor could file a claim of right to recover their land and remove the fence.