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People v. Patton

389 N.E.2d 1174 (1979)

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People v. Patton

Illinois Supreme Court
389 N.E.2d 1174 (1979)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

Ray Patton (defendant) snatched Rita Alexander’s purse as she hurried down the sidewalk with her family to church. Alexander was carrying her purse in her fingertips down by her side. Patton walked toward Alexander from the opposite direction, swiftly grabbed the purse as he passed, and fled. Alexander said the grabbing movement threw her arm back a little bit, but she did not resist and was not hurt. The prosecution (plaintiff) charged Patton with both robbery and theft from a person, and the jury found Patton guilty on both charges, but the trial court entered judgment only as to robbery. Patton appealed, and the appellate court reversed and remanded with directions to convict Patton of only the less serious offense of theft from a person. The prosecution appealed, arguing that using enough force to take something from someone’s hand sufficed to convict for robbery.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Ward, J.)

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