Robbery — Article 179 and Its Four Levels
Robbery belongs among the grave crimes of the Criminal Code of Georgia: the penalty under this article begins at five years and reaches fifteen. The law defines robbery as an attack on another's movable property for the purpose of its unlawful appropriation, committed with violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of applying such violence. If such a charge has touched you, it is important to know from the first day on which elements this composition rests and what raises the penalty — it is in precisely these details that the possibilities of the defense lie.
The Essential Elements of the Composition
From the definition it follows that the prosecution must establish three necessary elements: an attack, the purpose of unlawful appropriation of another's movable property, and violence dangerous to life or health, or the threat of its application. Each element requires separate evidence: the dangerousness of the violence rests on a medical assessment, the purpose — on the factual circumstances, and the fact of the attack — on the chronological picture. This definition distinguishes robbery from other, less grave acts, and this line of demarcation is the central question of the case. In practice the dispute most often arises around the character of the violence: the law requires violence dangerous to life or health, or a real threat of such violence, and if the physical contact was of a different character, or the threat does not substantially reach that level, the qualification must change. The element of purpose is equally important: the appropriation must be unlawful and directed at another's movable property; an attack committed with a different motive does not fall under this norm.
Penalty Under the First Part
For the basic composition the law provides imprisonment for a term of five to seven years. This means that even without aggravating features the case is grave, and the accused's position depends on the precise analysis of every element of the composition. At the same time, the height of the lower limit means that the separate and substantiated examination of every element — the attack, the purpose and the violence — is decisive immediately, from the very first stage of the case.
The Second Part — the First Group of Aggravating Features
The same act is punished by imprisonment for a term of six to nine years if it is committed:
- through unlawful entry into premises or another depository;
- by a group;
- against a transport vehicle.
Each of these features requires separate establishment: unlawful entry means entering the depository without a right; group commission means the complicity of several participants; and the feature connected with a transport vehicle demands a concrete factual account as well. Failure to prove any one feature reduces the penalty to the first part.
The Third Part — the Second Group
The same act is punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years if it is committed more than once, through unlawful entry into an apartment, or with the purpose of seizing property in a large amount. The calculation of a large amount follows the respective rules, and its establishment rests on the prosecution — a general presumption is impermissible.
The Fourth Part — the Gravest Composition
The act is punished by imprisonment for a term of eleven to fifteen years if it is committed by an organized group, or by a person who was convicted twice or more for unlawful appropriation of another's property or for extortion. The feature of an organized group presupposes a stable, pre-created association, and multiple prior convictions presuppose documentarily confirmed prior judgments.
Defense Directions
The lawyer's work extends across all four levels: the elements of the composition — whether the violence was truly dangerous and whether the purpose of appropriation existed; the aggravating features — group commission, entry, repetition, amount, organized group and prior convictions; the evidence — the completeness of the victim's testimony and its assessment; and the penalty — on the basis of the separate examination of each feature. The rules for the allocation of punishment are defined by other norms of the Code. Contact us — we will review your case in confidence.