"Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear." (Pen. Code, § 211)
Robbery can be of the first or second degree. It is of the first degree when it occurs "of any person who is performing his or her duties as an operator of any bus, taxicab, cable car, streetcar,
trackless trolley, or other vehicle, including a vehicle operated on stationary rails or on a track or rail suspended in the air, and used for the transportation of persons for hire;
also "every robbery of any passenger which is perpetrated on any of these vehicles,"
and "every robbery which is perpetrated in an inhabited dwelling house, "a vessel which is inhabited and designed for habitation, an inhabited floating home, a trailer coach which is inhabited, or the inhabited portion of any other building is robbery of the first degree. (Pen. Code, § 212, subdivision (a).
Additionally, robbery is of the first degree when it occurs while " any person is using an automated teller machine or immediately after the person has used an automated teller machine and is in the vicinity of the automated teller machine." (Pen. Code, § 212, subdivision (b).)
Every other type of robbery is of the second degree. (See, Pen. Code, § 212, subdivision (c).)
7 Elements of Robbery
There are seven elements of robbery: "(1) a taking (2) of personal property (3) in the possession of another (4) from [his] person or immediate presence (5) against [his] will (6) accomplished by means of force or fear (7) with an intent to permanently deprive." (People v. Prieto (1993) 15 Cal.App.4th 210, 213.)
Defenses to Robbery
An experienced criminal defense attorney who convinces a jury that any of these seven elements of robbery were not established will achieve a not guilty verdict. Additionally, even if there was a robbery, a criminal defense lawyer might be able to successfully persuade a jury that someone else was the robber, not the person on trial.
Also, sometimes the verdict forms are not clear as to whether the jury is finding a first degree robbery or second degree robbery. The California Supreme court interpreted Penal Code section 1157 in People v. McDonald (1984) 37 Cal.3d 351 (McDonald) and People v. Beamon (1973) 8 Cal.3d 625 (Beamon). "Under the McDonald-Beamon rule, a jury in a criminal case is required to determine the degree of the crime and if it does not, the offense is deemed to be of the lesser degree." (In re Birdwell (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 926, 928.) "Even if it is obvious that the jury intended to find [the greater degree], the McDonald-Beamon rule focuses solely on the actual verdict and does not take into account any extrinsic evidence or findings." (Id. at p. 930.)
Punishment for robbery
First degree robbery is punished depending on the facts of the robbery. When it is proven that the defendant, voluntarily acting in concert with two or more other persons, commits the robbery within an inhabited dwelling house, an inhabited vessel, an inhabited floating home, a trailer coach, or the inhabited portion of any other building, by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 6, or 9 years.
In all other cases where robbery was of the first degree, it is punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 4, or 6 years.
Second degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 5 years.
Notwithstanding Penal Code section 664, attempted robbery is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison.
copyright © 2015 Christine Esser
The information contained here is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. Online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Information on this blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between you and Christine Esser. An attorney- client relationship is only established when a written retainer has been signed.
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