Legal term
Robbery
Answer: Robbery. At common law, it is larceny committed from the person or presence by force, violence, or intimidation, with intent to steal. Federal statutes illustrate the elements by punishing takings from a bank “by force and violence, or by intimidation” from the person or presence. States generally track these elements, though some vary on intent duration.
Rule to remember
Robbery: the common-law offense of taking another’s property from the person or presence by force, violence, or intimidation, with intent to permanently deprive.
Key elements and checks
- Taking the property of another
- From the person or in the victim’s presence
- By force, violence, or intimidation
- With intent to permanently deprive
In the source’s words
“the felonious and forcible taking, from the person of another, of goods or money to any value, by putting him in fear”
Carter v. United States | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
“by force and violence, or by intimidation, takes, or attempts to take, from the person or presence of another”
18 U.S. Code § 2113 - Bank robbery and incidental crimes | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
States codify this offense with variations. Many follow the common-law intent to permanently deprive, but some jurisdictions (e.g., Florida) recognize temporary deprivation. Federal law mirrors core elements in bank cases (18 U.S.C. § 2113). Always check the governing statute.