Rodriguez v. State

In Rodriguez v. State, 396 So. 2d 798 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), the defendant, the manager of a hotel, kept certain rental payments claiming he was entitled to them pursuant to an agreement with the owner. The owner gave a different version of the arrangement, under which the manager was entitled to the rental payments. The court held that the jury should have been instructed: "Where it clearly appears that the taking of property was consistent with honest conduct, as where the taker honestly believes that he or she has a right to property, the taker cannot be convicted of theft, even though the taker may have been mistaken."