ATM Stickups Confuse Courts Over the Real Victim: You or Banks

Welcome back to Opening Argument, a reported column where I dig into tricky legal questions and unpack issues dividing appellate courts. On tap today: When a robbery is bank robbery.

If you’re held at gunpoint and forced to pull money from an ATM, are you being robbed or is the bank?

Federal appeals courts disagree on whether that’s federal bank robbery or not. It’s a distinction that’s important because federal bank robbery charges are often stacked on top other counts and carry up to 20 years in prison or 25 years if a dangerous weapon is used.

Last month, the U.S. ...