Also known as: unlawful forces · illegal force
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Force, including confinement, that is employed without the consent of the person against whom it is directed and whose employment constitutes an offense or actionable tort or would constitute such an offense or tort except for a defense not amounting to a privilege to use the force.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ulrike Ulrich operated a crane twenty stories above ground when Silas threatened to throw her from the building unless she lifted an overloaded pallet. The threat of being hurled to her death constituted unlawful force because it was a criminal assault made without consent. Ulrike complied under the coercion, raising the question whether the duress defense applied to her reckless endangerment charge.
Uri Underwood, a hotel auditor, was pinned against a wall by an intoxicated guest who yelled in his face after ignoring requests to quiet down. The pinning was unlawful force because it occurred without consent and amounted to an unprivileged battery. Uri struck the guest once with a cart handle to break free, testing whether his responsive force was justified.
Usha Upton stood at her workstation when a coworker rushed at her brandishing a raised ratchet wrench and shouting threats after an earlier argument. The advancing threat with the wrench was unlawful force because it was an attempted battery delivered without consent. Usha struck once with a tire iron to stop the attack, raising whether she could claim self-protection without retreating from the shared workspace.
No. Force remains unlawful even if the actor who employs it has a defense like duress, youth, or lack of intent, provided the defense does not amount to a privilege to use the force. The definition expressly carves out only those defenses that confer a privilege.
Supporting sources
Assent constitutes consent even if it would otherwise be legally ineffective, except when the assent is to death or serious bodily harm. Without consent, force that would otherwise be criminal or tortious qualifies as unlawful.
…in the Comments to the Model Penal Code: "The actor must believe that his defensive action is immediately necessary and the unlawful force against which he defends must be force that he apprehends will be used on the present occasion, but he need not apprehend that it will be immediately used." Model Penal Code § 3.04 comment…
…the necessity that might justify homicide to be essentially that of self-defence, that is, defence against the use or attempt of unlawful force
…defined the words “assault” and “rape”: “The court is further advised that' an assault is defined as an attempt, or offer, with unlawful force
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Unlawful force supplies the coercive element that triggers the duress defense when a person of reasonable firmness in the actor's situation could not resist the threat or use of that force. The defense is unavailable if the actor recklessly placed himself in the situation.
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Unlawful force justifies the use of defensive force when the actor believes such force is immediately necessary to protect against it on the present occasion. The belief must be evaluated under the code's additional limitations on deadly force and retreat.
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Yes. The definition treats such force as unlawful because the mental-incapacity defense does not confer a privilege to use the force. Only privileges remove the conduct from the category of unlawful force.
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