Appropriation is described in the theft statute as the bringing about “a transfer or purported transfer of title to or other nonpossessory interest in property, whether to the actor or another” or else the acquisition or other exercise of control over property other than real property. You might think about this as the taking of something that doesn’t currently belong to you. This isn’t necessarily wrong or illegal – for instance, you are taking something that doesn’t belong to you when you buy something from a store. As soon as you pay them money, you now own it legally, but the transfer is called “appropriation” for the purposes of the Theft law. So, since not all “appropriations” are unlawful, the next question is what appropriations are unlawful.Section 31.03(b) of the Texas Penal Code describes three ways in which an “appropriation” is “unlawful”:(b) Appropriation of property is unlawful if:(1) it is without the owner’s effective consent;(2) the property is stolen and the actor appropriates the property knowing it was stolen by another; or(3) property in the custody of any law enforcement agency was explicitly represented by any law enforcement agent to the actor as being stolen and the actor appropriates the property believing it was stolen by another.The term “effective consent” is broadly defined in the law: “Effective consent” includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. Consent is not effective if:(A) induced by deception or coercion;(B) given by a person the actor knows is not legally authorized to act for the owner;(C) given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect, or intoxication is known by the actor to be unable to make reasonable property dispositions;(D) given solely to detect the commission of an offense; or(E) given by a person who by reason of advanced age is known by the actor to have a diminished capacity to make informed and rational decisions about the reasonable disposition of property.In sum, effective consent generally means that the owner of the property agreed to the appropriation and was not tricked into the agreement.