Also known as: against the will · involuntarily
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin phrase denoting action taken against an unwilling person. It describes proceedings or transfers imposed without consent, such as compelled participation in litigation or involuntary divestiture of rights.
Isabella Ingram, a naturalized citizen, voted once in her birth country's election under family pressure. Federal officials applied a statute declaring her citizenship lost. She sued, arguing the automatic divestiture violated the Fourteenth Amendment because it occurred without her voluntary consent.
Isla Ireland defaulted on her home loan during an economic crisis. The state enacted a temporary law delaying foreclosure sales. Home Building & Loan Association sought immediate enforcement, but the court upheld the delay as a valid exercise of state power even though the lender opposed the extension.
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Ines Ibarra obtained a state license to operate a ferry between two ports. Aaron Ogden held an exclusive federal grant covering the same route. Gibbons sued to invalidate the state monopoly, and the Court ruled that federal commerce power prevailed over the unwilling state grantee.
Iris Irons published an article accusing a private attorney of criminal conduct. The attorney sued for libel and recovered presumed damages without proving actual malice. The Court reversed on other grounds, holding that the First Amendment imposed limits on recovery against a media defendant.
Irene Ingalls gave a statement to police without receiving Miranda warnings. Prosecutors sought to introduce the statement under a statute allowing voluntary confessions. The Court suppressed the evidence, ruling that the constitutional rule applied even though Congress had attempted an override by statute.
Isabelle Inman's family was portrayed in a magazine story that dramatized a hostage incident. The family sued under a state privacy statute. The Court held that the First Amendment protected the publication because the story involved a matter of public concern and the plaintiffs could not show knowing falsity, preventing an in invitum recovery.
It describes an involuntary loss of citizenship imposed by statute without the citizen's consent. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids Congress from stripping citizenship automatically for acts such as voting in a foreign election when no voluntary relinquishment occurred.
It identifies transfers that occur by operation of law, such as court-ordered divorce decrees or inheritance, even when the recipient or other parties do not consent. Such transfers satisfy contemporaneous-ownership rules for derivative standing without violating contractual consent requirements.
Yes. Criminal liability requires a voluntary act. Bodily movements during a seizure or unconsciousness qualify as involuntary and therefore cannot satisfy the actus reus element even if harm results.
…as legally sufficient to engender in the mind of the accused hope or fear in respect to the crime charged, the accused was not involuntarily impelled to make a statement, when but for the improper influences he would have remained silent. . . ." 168 U. S., at 549. And see, id., at 542 . The Court has adhered to this reasoning.…