Also known as: mugged · mug · mugger · street robbery · robbery
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal taking of personal property from another by force or intimidation. The act satisfies the elements of robbery when the force overcomes resistance or creates an immediate threat of serious injury and the property is taken from the victim's presence with intent to deprive permanently.
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Meredith Maxwell was walking home when Marcus Mitchell grabbed her purse strap and yanked it hard enough to pull her off balance. Mitchell fled with the purse containing her wallet. The force used to overcome Maxwell's resistance satisfied the taking element of the offense.
Matthew Martinez approached Miranda Morales on a subway platform and demanded her phone while displaying a knife. Morales surrendered the phone. The threat of immediate serious injury during the theft placed the conduct within the statutory definition of robbery.
Maurice Marshall was acquitted of mugging one victim when the jury found the identification evidence insufficient. The state then sought to prosecute him for mugging a second victim from the same incident. Collateral estoppel prevented the second prosecution because the identity issue had been finally determined.
Michelle Murphy and an accomplice committed a mugging that resulted in the victim's death from a blow to the head. The prosecution relied on the presumption that extreme indifference to human life exists when death occurs during the commission of robbery. The jury could therefore find murder without separate proof of recklessness.
Marcus Mitchell received a life sentence without parole after a series of muggings that involved no violence beyond the takings themselves. The court examined whether the sentence was grossly disproportionate to the offenses under the Eighth Amendment. The analysis focused on the gravity of the crimes and the harshness of the penalty.
Meredith Maxwell gave a statement to police admitting her role in a mugging and naming Matthew Martinez as the person who wielded the weapon. At their joint trial the prosecution sought to introduce the statement against Martinez. The confrontation clause barred its use without an opportunity for cross-examination.
Force must be sufficient to overcome the victim's resistance or the threat must create fear of immediate serious injury. Mere snatching without resistance may fall short of robbery.
A death occurring during the commission of a mugging triggers a presumption of extreme indifference to human life under the Model Penal Code. The prosecution need not prove separate recklessness.
Collateral estoppel embodied in the Double Jeopardy Clause prevents retrial when identity was the decisive issue in the first acquittal.
…defendant’s constitutional rights were not violated. In Vignera v. New York , the defendant was arrested in connection with a robbery. He was taken to the 17th Detective Squad headquarters in Manhattan where he was interrogated for several hours. He was not advised of his right to counsel. A detective testified that the…