Anyone know the difference between a 2nd and 3rd degree felony? (crime, law)

[MrsMaggiesMom]

I was just wondering, what makes the difference between a 2nd and 3rd degree felony charge? The person in question stole over $28,000.00 from our work and from what I read, this robbery charge could be a 2nd or 3rd degree felony. Who decides the difference & what are the stipulations??

THANKS

[CyberKnight13]

It all depends on the law and they differ by state. You have to look up Ohio state laws and look at the actual code for robbery.

Usually the higher the number, the lesser the charge. So 3rd degree is less than 2nd degree.

Obviously any felony is bad, but it all depends on what the final outcome of the case is.

Usually the Police will charge someone with the highest level of crime they can to give the prosecutor breathing room for a plea, etc. Once someone is charged, the severity or degree can be lowered but not raised without new evidence.

I hope this helped a little, here is a link to Ohio state robbery laws Lawriter - ORC - 2911.02 Robbery.

ok, so the link does not work as HTML is disabled so here is the law from the above linked site:

2911.02 Robbery.

(A) No person, in attempting or committing a theft offense or in fleeing immediately after the attempt or offense, shall do any of the following:
(1) Have a deadly weapon on or about the offender’s person or under the offender’s control;
(2) Inflict, attempt to inflict, or threaten to inflict physical harm on another;
(3) Use or threaten the immediate use of force against another.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of robbery. A violation of division (A)(1) or (2) of this section is a felony of the second degree. A violation of division (A)(3) of this section is a felony of the third degree.
(C) As used in this section:
(1) “Deadly weapon” has the same meaning as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.
(2) “Theft offense” has the same meaning as in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code.
Effective Date: 07-01-1996