recent

New or fairly new. Characterizing the period of time immediately preceding the present moment. In the law of larceny, under the rule that the possession of stolen property must be recent after the theft in order to afford a just basis for an inference of guilt on the part of the possessor, the word “recent" in this connection is incapable of exact definition. Except perhaps in extreme cases, no definite time can be fixed as to when, as a matter of law, possession is or is not recent. What is recent possession varies, within a limited range, with the conditions and surrounding circumstances of each case, arid is, within such range, to be determined by the jury upon the facts of the particular case. The particular period of time involved is an important element to be considered, but it is not the only one. The circumstances and character of the goods, their salability, and whether they are cumbersome or easily portable, are also among the factors to be considered, 32 Am J1st Larc § 142. "We think that 'recent transactions' to which this Court has declared a tax law may be retroactively applied, Cooper v United States, 280 US 409, 411, 74 L Ed 516, 50 Sup Ct Rep 164, must be taken to include the receipt of income during the year of the legislative session preceding that of its enactment." Welch v Henry, 305 US 134, 83 L Ed 87, 59 S Ct 121.