Also known as: physical force · physical restraint · force · restraint
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A physical act or physical restraint that inflicts more than negligible physical harm, pain, or discomfort or that significantly restricts a person’s ability to move freely. More than negligible physical harm includes a burn, black eye, or bloody nose. More than negligible pain or discomfort includes the pain resulting from a kick, punch, or slap on the face.
Piper Patel approached Pearl Porter on a sidewalk and seized her handbag. Patel yanked the strap hard enough to pull Porter off balance and cause a bruise on her shoulder. Porter released the bag only after the forceful tug. The taking satisfies the force element because the physical act inflicted more than negligible harm and overcame the victim’s resistance.
Preston Pratt, a landlord, entered a tenant’s apartment without permission to make repairs. When the tenant tried to stop him, Pratt grabbed the tenant’s arm and held it firmly against the door frame until the tenant stopped resisting. The physical restraint caused visible redness and prevented free movement. The conduct constitutes physical force or restraint under the lease obligations analysis.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Paige Porter told Portia Price she must marry him or he would physically prevent her from leaving the house. He blocked the doorway with his body and held her wrist until she agreed to the ceremony. The physical restraint and threat of continued force vitiated free consent. The marriage is subject to attack on that ground.
Perry Pratt found a trespasser moving his tools from a shed. Pratt immediately grabbed the trespasser’s collar and pushed him against the wall to stop the removal. The physical force was used without first requesting the trespasser to desist. The justification defense is unavailable because the actor did not first request desistance.
Pulse Media’s security guard raised a baton and swung it toward a protester’s head. The protester believed the baton would strike unless he ducked or fled. The guard’s physical act created the required apprehension of imminent contact. The conduct meets the element for assault liability.
Prime Logistics conveyed land using language that created a fee tail under the Statute De Donis. The grantee’s heirs were physically prevented from alienating the property outside the line of descent. The restraint operated through the estate’s legal incidents rather than direct physical compulsion. The conveyance produced the fee tail estate in the jurisdiction.
Yes. The definition requires that the act inflict more than negligible physical harm, pain, or discomfort or significantly restrict free movement. A mere touch that causes no pain or restriction does not qualify.
Supporting sources
No. Confinement by duress may occur through serious nonphysical threats, but the element of physical force or restraint itself demands an actual physical act or restraint meeting the harm or restriction threshold.
Yes. A slap produces more than negligible pain or discomfort and therefore meets the definition even without lasting injury.
Supporting sources
Yes. Firmly holding an arm against resistance restricts the person’s ability to move freely and satisfies the definition.
Supporting sources
…Specific and direct harm medically diagnosable even in early pregnancy may be involved. Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also the distress, for all concerned,…