Also known as: voluntary act · voluntary act requirement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct that is the product of the actor's conscious choice or will. Criminal liability requires that the defendant's conduct include such an act or an omission the defendant is physically capable of performing.
Victor Vargas receives an unmarked drive from an anonymous source. After learning it contains illegally obtained footage, he locks it in his desk and reviews segments over three weeks without destroying or surrendering it. His continued conscious control satisfies the voluntary-act requirement for criminal possession.
Vera Vargas holds a promissory note from a borrower. She intentionally cancels the borrower's signature on the instrument and returns it to him. Her deliberate act discharges the obligation under the governing commercial statute.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Virgil Vaughn admits striking the victim but claims he lacked intent to kill. The jury is instructed that it may presume he intended the ordinary consequences of his voluntary acts. The instruction permits the factfinder to infer purpose from the willed nature of the blows.
Violet Vidal is taken into custody and questioned without warnings. Her later statements are offered at trial. The court examines whether the statements resulted from her voluntary acts during the interview or from improper compulsion.
Vance Vogel seeks a writ to compel delivery of a commission. The court must decide whether the executive's refusal constitutes a voluntary act subject to judicial review or an unreviewable political decision.
Viktor Voronin enters a guilty plea in exchange for a prosecutor's promise on sentencing. The prosecutor later recommends a harsher sentence. The court determines whether the breach undermines the voluntary character of the plea.
Yes when the actor maintains knowing control for a period long enough to terminate possession. Ellie kept the drive in a locked drawer and reviewed it repeatedly over three weeks after discovering its illegal source. That conscious retention meets the statutory threshold for a voluntary act supporting criminal possession.
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Yes if the actor consciously chooses not to perform the act. Danny observed the sludge diversion and deliberately refrained from pressing the alarm while weighing regulatory options. His calculated hesitation constitutes a voluntary omission under the statute.
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No. The statute excludes movements occurring during unconsciousness or sleep. Danny flipped the valve while dozing after a double shift. That action cannot supply the voluntary act needed for liability.
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Possession qualifies when the actor knowingly receives the item or remains aware of control long enough to end it. Danny maintained keys and awareness of banned barrels for weeks without reporting them. That sustained awareness satisfies the possession definition.
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…else again to remove from the ordinary criminal case all those confessions which heretofore have been held to be free and voluntary acts of the accused and to thus establish a new constitutional barrier to the ascertainment of truth by the judicial process. There is, in my view, every reason to believe that a good many…