UCMJ Article 122: Robbery
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Robbery is taking anything of value from another person, or from that person’s presence, against the person’s will, by force or violence or by fear of immediate or future injury. The maximum is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 10 years, rising to 15 years when the force, violence, or fear came from a dangerous weapon. A dangerous weapon can be a firearm, but also a bottle, a rock, or even fists, depending on how it is used.
Taking by force, violence, or fear
10 U.S.C. § 922: “Any person subject to this chapter who takes anything of value from the person or in the presence of another, against his will, by means of force or violence or fear of immediate or future injury to his person or property or to the person or property of a relative or member of his family or of anyone in his company at the time of the robbery, is guilty of robbery.”
Five elements, and a sixth for a weapon
The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 67.b:
- the accused wrongfully took certain property from the person, or from the possession and in the presence, of a named or described person;
- the taking was against that person’s will;
- the taking was by force, violence, or both, or by putting the person in fear of immediate or future injury to the person, a relative, a family member, anyone accompanying the person, or any of their property;
- the property belonged to a named or described person; and
- the property was of a certain or of some value.
For the higher maximum, the government adds a sixth element: the means of force, violence, or fear was a dangerous weapon.
“In the presence” has no distance limit
“It is not necessary that the property taken be located within any certain distance of the victim” (¶ 67.c(1)). The Manual’s example: intruders who force a homeowner by threats to reveal where valuables are hidden in an adjoining room, leave the owner tied up, and take the valuables from that room have committed robbery.
How much force is enough
Force or violence must be actual, against the person, and must precede or accompany the taking; it does not matter whether the victim felt fear (¶ 67.c(2)). “Any amount of force is enough” if it overcomes actual resistance, puts the person in a position where no resistance is made, or overcomes a chain or fastening attaching the article to the person.
The Manual draws the line with examples:
| Not robbery (absent fear) | Robbery |
|---|---|
| Merely snatching an article from another's hand, with no other force | Tearing an earring from a person's ear |
| Picking a pocket by stealth | A confederate jostling the victim so a pickpocket can take a watch, even if the victim never notices |
| Knocking a person unconscious and rifling the pockets | |
| A guard handcuffing a prisoner on a pretext and taking the prisoner's property |
Robbery by fear
Robbery by fear needs no actual force, but there must be “a demonstration of force or menace” that places the victim in such fear that the victim is warranted in making no resistance (¶ 67.c(3)). The fear must be a reasonable apprehension of present or future injury, and the taking must occur while that apprehension exists. The feared harm can be death or bodily injury to the victim, a relative or family member, or anyone with the victim, or destruction of their home or other property serious enough to justify giving up what was demanded.
Dangerous weapon raises the maximum to 15 years
From ¶ 67.d:
| Robbery | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Committed with a dangerous weapon | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 15 years |
| All other cases | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
“Dangerous weapon” has the Article 128 meaning (¶ 67.c(5), referring to ¶ 77.c(5)(a)(iii)): a weapon is dangerous “when used in a manner capable of inflicting death or grievous bodily harm,” and what constitutes one “depends not on the nature of the object itself but on its capacity, given the manner of its use, to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm.” The Manual lists a bottle, beer glass, rock, piece of pipe, boiling water, drugs, and a rifle butt, and says fists, teeth, feet, or elbows may qualify in the right circumstances. The higher tier is not limited to firearms.
One robbery per victim
“Robberies of different persons at the same time and place are separate offenses,” each alleged in its own specification (¶ 67.c(4)). This is the opposite of larceny, where several items taken at the same time and place are one offense.
Robbery and its neighbors
Without force, violence, or fear, the taking is larceny under Article 121. The force itself can also be assault under Article 128. A killing during a robbery or attempted robbery is murder under Article 118(4), whether or not the killing was intended.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 922, Article 122, Robbery (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 67 and ¶ 77.c(5)(a)(iii)
General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.