The Law Dictionary

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FORCE Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

Power dynamically considered, that is, in motion or in action; constraining power, compulsion; strength directed to an end. Usually the word occurs in such connections as to show that unlawful or wrongful action is meant. Watson v. Railway Co., 7 Misc. Rep. 562, 28 N. Y. Supp. 84; Plank Road Co. v. Robbins, 22 Barb. (X. Y.)  607.Unlawful violence. It is either simple, as entering upon another’s possession, without doing any other unlawful act; compound, when some other violence is committed,which of itself alone is criminal; or implied, as in every trespass, rescous, or disseisin.Power statically considered; that is at rest, or latent, but capable of being called Into activity upon occasion for its exercise. Efficacy; legal validity. This is the meaning when we say that a statute or a contract is “in force.”In old English law. A technical term applied to a species of accessary before the fact.In Scotch law. Coercion; duress. Bell.

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