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.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
