Louisiana Bar Criminal Law and Procedure Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Study Resource

The key concept is the difference between intent to permanently deprive and intent to temporarily use. In Louisiana, unauthorized use of a movable covers taking or using someone else’s movable without consent when the plan is to borrow or use it temporarily rather than to permanently deprive the owner. Theft, by contrast, requires an intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.

Here, the bicycle is taken without the neighbor’s consent, but there’s no plan to permanently deprive the owner. That aligns with unauthorized use of a movable because the offender intended to use the bicycle for a period and then return it, not to keep it. The other offenses don’t fit: simple burglary involves unlawful entry to commit a theft or felony (usually a building, not just taking a bicycle), and carjacking requires taking a motor vehicle by force or intimidation. A bicycle is a movable and not a motor vehicle, and the lack of intent to permanently deprive rules out theft.