Robbery - Next Generation Bar Exam
- What is the timing requirement for the force or threat in robbery under the traditional rule?
- The force or threat must precede or accompany the taking. Many modern statutes also cover force used to retain the property or escape.
- What typically elevates robbery to armed robbery?
- Use or display of a deadly weapon. Many jurisdictions treat an apparent weapon, such as a toy gun, as sufficient.
- What are the elements of robbery?
- A larceny from the victim's person or presence, accomplished by force or by threat of immediate force. Robbery is larceny aggravated by force or intimidation.
- A thief snatches a purse from a woman's shoulder so quickly that she has no chance to resist. Under the majority rule, what crime has he committed?
- Larceny, not robbery. Snatching without overcoming any resistance does not involve the force robbery requires.
- How much force does robbery require?
- Force sufficient to overcome the victim's resistance. Stokeling v. United States confirmed that force overcoming even slight resistance suffices.
- What threats satisfy the intimidation element of robbery?
- Threats of immediate harm to the victim, the victim's family, or another person present. Threats of future harm support extortion, not robbery.
- Which offenses are lesser included offenses of robbery?
- Larceny and assault. A defendant convicted of robbery cannot also be convicted of the included larceny and assault.
- During a holdup, a robber points a realistic toy gun at a cashier and takes cash from the register. What crime is he guilty of in many jurisdictions?
- Armed robbery. Many jurisdictions treat an apparent deadly weapon as satisfying the weapon element.
- A man tells a shopkeeper he will burn down her store next week unless she pays him $1,000, and she pays. What crime has he committed?
- Extortion. The threat was of future harm, not immediate force, so the taking is not robbery.
- What does 'from the person or presence' of the victim mean for robbery?
- From the victim's body or from an area within the victim's control that the victim could otherwise have protected. Taking property from another room while holding the victim at gunpoint qualifies.