Also known as: physical forces · brute force · physical coercion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Actual physical strength or violence applied directly to a person's body. This satisfies requirements for compulsion when it overpowers the victim's will or produces the prohibited contact.
Piper Patel stood to leave the office after refusing a settlement. The agent blocked the door and stated that any attempt to exit would trigger immediate restraint. Patel remained seated. The agent's threat of direct physical restraint satisfied the requirement for confinement by submission to threatened force.
Peter Park fled on foot after an officer ordered him to stop. The officer chased Park for two blocks but never touched him or displayed a weapon. Park kept running until he reached his car. Because no physical force was applied and Park never submitted, the chase produced no seizure.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Priscilla Parks tried to exit the storeroom. The manager seized her arm and held her against the wall until she stopped struggling. The manager's direct physical restraint satisfied the requirement for confinement by overpowering force.
Pierce Patterson refused to sign the guaranty. The bank officer grabbed his wrist, forced a pen into his hand, and dragged the pen across the page while Patterson pulled away. The resulting signature was produced entirely by physical force and created no contract.
Phoebe Park confronted an alleged shoplifter and tackled him to the floor. She then stomped repeatedly on his chest despite his cries. The direct application of physical force to a vital area supported an inference of intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.
Priya Prasad was held in a stationhouse room for hours. Officers struck her and applied pressure to sensitive areas while demanding a confession. The sustained physical force produced an involuntary statement that could not be used against her.
Some jurisdictions hold that the force inherent in nonconsensual penetration satisfies the element. Other courts require additional physical strength sufficient to overcome resistance or cause injury. The distinction turns on whether the statute defines force as any unauthorized contact or as extra force beyond penetration.
Supporting sources
Physical force that literally moves the party's hand or body so the signature is not the party's own volitional act prevents formation. The resulting document is treated as a nullity rather than a voidable contract. Courts distinguish this from threats that merely induce a voluntary signature.
Supporting sources
No. A seizure by physical force requires actual touching or application of force by the officer. Mere pursuit or an order to stop does not qualify. Submission to authority is an alternative basis for seizure but is distinct from physical force.
Supporting sources
…was an indigent Los Angeles Negro who had dropped out of school in the sixth grade. To be sure, the records do not evince overt physical coercion or patent psychological ploys. The fact remains that in none of these cases did the officers undertake to afford appropriate safeguards at the outset of the interrogation to insure that the…