Also known as: coercions · coercive · coercively
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Compulsion by physical force or threat of physical force that overrides a person's free will. The presence of coercion renders consent invalid and makes resulting acts or statements involuntary.
Claire Campbell received a letter from an attorney urging her to hire him for a personal injury claim while she recovered in the hospital from an accident. The attorney visited her room uninvited and pressed her to sign a retainer despite her expressed desire to rest. The solicitation is prohibited because it involves coercion.
Colin Chambers gave a detailed confession to police after officers found him disoriented at a crime scene. Evidence showed Chambers suffered from severe schizophrenia that prompted the statements without any police threats or pressure. The confession remains admissible because only official compulsion by the state renders a statement involuntary.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cade Carpenter threatened to harm Cody Callahan's family unless Callahan married him that day. Callahan went through the ceremony only because of the immediate threat. The marriage is subject to attack because one party used coercion to induce the other to enter the relationship.
Craig Caldwell signed a marital settlement agreement after his spouse threatened to publicize damaging personal information unless he accepted unfavorable terms. Caldwell lacked independent legal advice during the signing. The agreement may be set aside because it resulted from coercion.
Christian Coleman prevailed in a libel suit against a newspaper and sought a court order forcing the paper to print a retraction. The newspaper argued that such an order would constitute governmental coercion of speech. The requested remedy raises First Amendment concerns because it would involve state compulsion of expression.
Cypress Technologies employee Christian Coleman was held in a police station for hours and questioned about corporate fraud without receiving Miranda warnings. Officers used psychological pressure and isolation to obtain statements. The statements are inadmissible because the coercive custodial setting required procedural safeguards to protect against compelled self-incrimination.
Threats of physical force or other serious harm are sufficient to establish coercion. The sources treat both physical compulsion and credible threats as rendering consent or statements involuntary.
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Only official state compulsion renders a confession involuntary. Mental illness or personal lack of free will without police coercion does not trigger suppression.
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A marriage entered because one party used coercion or duress to induce consent is subject to attack. The parties must act of their own free will.
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Yes. A spouse may set aside an agreement reached through coercion even if the agreement is otherwise fair. The challenging spouse must prove the coercive conduct.
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A lawyer may not solicit employment if the solicitation involves coercion, duress, or harassment. The rule protects targets from improper pressure.
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…factors are considered herein as particularly important: (1) the existence of evidence of the use of physical and psychological coercion to obtain confessions, and (2) the necessity for procedural safeguards to protect the privilege against self-incrimination. II We sometimes forget how long it has taken to establish…