CRIMINAL LAW 1. Ahmed T. Ghandour.

VIOLENT CRIME.

ROBBERY.

DEFINITION AND BACKGROUND.  Many states define robbery as theft/larceny of property or money through the offender's use of physical force or fear against a victim. Where a deadly weapon such as a gun is used or the victim suffers injury, the robbery may be charged as "armed" or "aggravated." Unlike burglary, the crime of robbery almost always requires the presence of a victim who suffers actual injury, or is threatened with harm.  For example, Dan approaches Victor from behind, demanding Victor's wallet while pressing a hard object into his back. Fearing that Dan has a gun, Victor gives up his wallet. If Dan did use a gun, or if Victor suffered an injury, the charge would likely be elevated to "armed" or "aggravated" robbery.

THE ELEMENTS OF ROBBERY.  The penal codes of each state define robbery in different ways, but the definitions contain the same basic elements. Robbery generally consists of:  The taking, with the intent to steal, of; the personal property of another; from his or her person or in their presence; against his or her will; by violence, intimidation or the threat of force.  Essentially, robbery is theft accomplished by violence or the threat of violence. Since this element of force sits at the core of robbery, a vital question in a robbery prosecution concerns the timing of the violence. If, for example, the violence only occurs as the robber attempts to escape from the discovered scene of a theft, the charges brought might include larceny and resisting arrest, but not necessarily robbery.

 The use or threat of force can also be slight, and the amount required to turn a theft into a robbery depends on the parties involved and the situation. If a small amount of violence or intimidation is enough to force the victim to turn over their property based on the natures of the victim and the assailant (if, say, the assailant is large and powerful and the victim is slight and elderly), then a robbery has occurred.  While the thief doesn't have to use very much force in order to commit a robbery, a certain amount is still required. Purse snatchings, for instance, require some resistance by the victim before the theft rises to the level of a robbery. If the robber can remove the purse without any force in excess of what is required to simply take the purse off the victims person, then a jury may determine that no robbery has taken place.

 States commonly separate robbery into different degrees based on the severity of the crime. Normal robbery is usually a second degree felony in most states, but can become a first degree felony if the robber uses a dangerous weapon or attempts to kill anyone or inflicts or attempts to inflict serious bodily injury. Some states designate this latter type of robbery as aggravated robbery.  We must know that the economic gain is the main motivation behind most robberies.

HATE CRIMES.

DEFINITION.  a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward an individual’s national origin, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.  a crime, esp. of violence, in which the victim is targeted because of his or her race, religion, sexuality, etc.  Also called bias crime.

HATE CRIMES FORMS.  Hate crimes can take on several forms such as; murder, rape and assault, but also destruction of property and arson.

 A hate crime is a crime that is motivated by intolerance towards a certain group within society. For a criminal act to qualify as a hate crime, it must meet two criteria:  The act must be a crime under the criminal code of the legal jurisdiction in which it is committed;  The crime must have been committed with a bias motivation.  “Bias motivation” means that the perpetrator chose the target of the crime on the basis of protected characteristics.  A “protected characteristic” is a fundamental or core characteristic that is shared by a group, such as “race”, religion, ethnicity, language or sexual orientation.  The target of a hate crime may be a person, people or property associated with a group that shares a protected characteristic.

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.

PROPERTY CRIMES.  Theft  Theft is the act of intentionally depriving someone of his or her property. Many states use the term to describe a wide number of property crimes, such as larceny and robbery.  Larceny  One commits larceny by taking something of value without consent and with the intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner of the object. Most states use the term theft in place of larceny.  Burglary  Burglary is the unlawful entry into a home or other closed structure, often by force or coercion, with the intent of stealing property from another or committing some other crime.  Shoplifting  Shoplifting is the theft or concealment of merchandise from a retail establishment without the intent to pay for it, such as placing items in one’s pocket and walking out of a store.  Arson  Arson is the intentional burning of almost any type of structure, building or forest land, with more severe degrees recognized if it causes bodily injury, or involves an inhabited building or intent to defraud insurers.  Vandalism  Vandalism occurs when an individual destroys, defaces or otherwise degrades someone else’s property without their permission; sometimes called criminal damage, malicious trespass, or malicious mischief.

LARCENY.

DEFINITION OF LARCENY.  The crime of "theft" has gradually become a catch-all term for all kinds of common-law property crimes, including larceny. Several states and the Model Penal Code organize larceny and certain other property crimes under the classification of theft; other states retain the traditional common-law distinctions, however.  In those other states, larceny remains its own crime, separate from other property crimes such as embezzlement, robbery and the acquisition of property through false pretenses.  Larceny is what most people think of as common theft: it is the taking of someone else's property without the use of force from a location other than inside their home. Car theft forms a typical instance of larceny. The offense developed under the common law, but most states that still recognize the crime of larceny have codified its elements into their penal code. While each state has its own definition of larceny (or theft), most of them incorporate the following elements in some form.

THE ELEMENTS OF LARCENY.  Larceny is:  The unlawful taking and carrying away of  Someone else's property  Without the consent of the owner and with  The intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently  In order to support a charge of larceny, the state must prove each element, so it's important to have an understanding of what they mean.

UNLAWFUL TAKING.  The first stage in a larceny involves the unlawful taking of another's property. Note that the taking must be unlawful, so the removal or appropriation of property for a lawful purpose will not constitute a larceny.  For example, when a bank legally repossesses a car for nonpayment of the car loans, the taking of the car accomplished a legal purpose, thus there is no larceny.  Some states also require that the taker must carry the property away, but other states have eliminated that requirement in order to broaden the scope of the crime. Certain property is immovable, for example, but as long as the perpetrator has taken control of it and removed its use and enjoyment from the owner, the first element of a larceny is present.

SOMEONE ELSE'S PROPERTY.  In order for a larceny to occur, the property in question must belong to someone else. If the property belongs to the person taking it, then they have not committed larceny, even if the property was in the possession and control of someone else at the time it was taken.  For example, Adam lends Bob a lawnmower. Bob keeps the lawnmower for longer than Adam wanted him to, so one day while Bob is mowing his lawn, Adam sneaks over, waits until Bob isn't looking and runs off with the lawnmower. Since the lawnmower belonged to Adam, he hasn't committed a larceny by taking it back.  Larceny can happen even when the owner of the property doesn't have possession of it. The only thing that matters is whether the person in control of the property had a better legal claim to the property than the person who took it.

 Someone could, for example, find someone else's lost cell phone on the ground. While at a coffee shop, another person could take it from the table while the person who found it looked away. Even though the phone didn't belong to the person who found it, they could still bring charges of larceny against the person who took it.  People who co-own property can also commit larceny if they deprive their co-owner(s) of their right to the property. Thus, if three friends jointly purchase a computer and one of the friends moves away with the computer without the consent of the other friends, he has committed larceny.

WITHOUT THE OWNER'S CONSENT.  Even if someone intends to steal a piece of property, no larceny occurs if the owner consents to the transfer of ownership of the property. If the owner approves of the removal of the property, then no unlawful taking has occurred, thus no larceny.  Separate crimes exist to cover situations where the owner approves of the transfer because of the other party's deceit or fraud, but for the purposes of basic larceny all that matters is that the owner must not give consent to the taking in order for a larceny to occur.

THE TAKER'S INTENT.  The final element of larceny involves the taker's intent to permanently deprive the owner of the use and enjoyment of the property. In other words, if the person who took the property intended to give it back eventually, the taking doesn't amount to larceny.  Larceny is a specific intent crime, which means that the person taking the property must specifically intend to commit larceny there can be no larceny by mistake. In addition to the example above, a person could have a reasonable belief that they own the property they are taking, thus they would not have the specific intent of taking someone else's property that would be required for a larceny.

DEGREES OF LARCENY.  States usually separate larceny into different categories based on the value of the item stolen. "Grand" larceny applies to higher-value items, and "petit" (or "petty") larceny applies to items of lesser value. Each state legislature decides the amount that divides a grand larceny from a petty larceny. For example, one state could make grand larceny apply to larcenies above $2,000, while another state could decide that grand larceny only occurs when the value of the stolen property exceeds $3,000. Anything below those amounts would constitute petit larceny.  States treat some larcenies as felonies, and others as misdemeanors. Again, states can set their own rules for what divides a felony larceny from a misdemeanor.

ONE LARCENY OR SEVERAL?  A common question that arises in larceny prosecutions is whether one larceny has occurred, or several. Generally, multiple items stolen from the same owner at the same time will form one larceny, but some states either give prosecutors the discretion to, or require that they, charge such a situation as multiple larcenies.  Courts will look at the timing and locations of larcenies to determine whether they formed part of a single activity or multiple activities. If part of a single activity, only one larceny has occurred. If there were multiple activities, however, then there were also multiple larcenies.  The determination of the number of larcenies affects the number and severity of the larceny charges. For example, if multiple takings form one instance of larceny, the amount of the items taken could push the larceny into the realm of a felony. On the other hand, if the multiple takings each formed a single occurrence of larceny, the defendant may face multiple lesser misdemeanor counts. In the end, this determination could have a great impact on the punishment the defendant receives.