Ocean City Robbery Lawyer

Robbery cases are incredibly serious because the charge is categorized as a felony. Under Maryland law, it is a crime of violence, which means that the sentences are much more serious and should only be handled with the attention of a theft attorney with a great deal of experience who has handled many similar cases in the past.

Further, robbery cases are typically heard in the Circuit Court, which means that they will be held in front of a jury. This is important because handling jury trials is a completely different challenge from handling a basic trial before a judge in district court. Therefore, someone looking for an attorney will be well served to look for one who has been practicing for several years, has handled a lot of criminal law, and has done a lot of jury trials.

In addition, it is very helpful to hire an Ocean City robbery attorney who previously worked as a prosecutor, because when people work as prosecutors, it is their responsibility to figure out how to build a case, decide what evidence they need, and determine how to prove each element and that experience can apply to being a criminal defense attorney. Having worked from this perspective allows the defense attorney to understand how to best counteract the prosecution’s tactics and arguments.

Elements

A robbery is very similar to a theft. The elements include the taking and carrying away of the property of another person, except doing it by force. It is that additional element of force that changes a charge of theft into one of robbery. By adding that element of force, elevating the charge from theft to robbery, the final result is that of elevating it from a misdemeanor to a felony. Therefore, that one element makes things much more serious for the defendant.

There is also the additional charge of armed robbery, which would mean that the person in question had committed a robbery while displaying a dangerous or a deadly weapon. In these cases, an experienced robbery lawyer in Ocean City may try to prove that the defendant didn’t use force in order to mitigate the damage of the offense.

Consequences

If a person has been convicted of the crime of robbery, they will have been deemed to have committed a felony and the maximum penalty that they will be facing is 15  years’ incarceration. It is important to understand that, because a robbery is classified as a crime of violence in Maryland, the possibility of parole is significant. Generally speaking, if a person receives a sentence in Maryland, they are probably going to serve roughly 25% of their sentence. However, that is not the case if they are convicted of a crime of violence because a crime of violence means that they would not even be considered eligible for parole until they have served at least 50% of their sentence. Therefore, it makes a big difference with regard to when a person could expect to be paroled.

It is also important to understand that if a person has prior convictions for crimes of violence, the parole aspect becomes even more serious. If it was a second conviction for a crime of violence, the court is mandated to impose a sentence of not less than 10 years. The judge loses the discretion about what to do with the sentence. That 10-year sentence cannot be suspended: it must be imposed as a 10-year active sentence. For a third conviction for the crime of violence, the mandatory sentence is raised again, this time to 25 years further making it imperative that a robbery lawyer in Ocean City is contacted.

How An Attorney Can Help

The consequences associated with a robbery conviction in Maryland are extremely serious and there are long-lasting repercussions. It is important for you to know that, if you are facing these charges, there is an Ocean City robbery attorney willing to fight by your side to protect your rights and mitigate the damage as much as possible.