1. Hist. A criminal plea, usu. to a theft charge, by a defendant asserting that the property was taken under the honest (but mistaken) belief that the defendant had a superior right to the property. • The claim of right could also be raised in defense against bigamy if a defendant honestly believed that an earlier marriage had been legally dissolved. It has been superseded by a defense of honesty.
2. Hist. An owner’s action to recover unjustly taken land in fee simple by employing a writ of course. See WRIT OF COURSE.
3. CLAIM OF OWNERSHIP.
