Legal Definitions - armata vis

Armata Vis (or more commonly, Vis Armata) is a Latin term meaning "armed force" or "force of arms." In a legal context, it refers to actual, physical violence or the threat of such violence, often involving weapons or a significant show of physical power, used to compel an action or achieve an objective.

• Example 1: During a heated argument, one individual brandishes a baseball bat and threatens to strike the other person if they don't leave the premises immediately. This act constitutes armata vis because it involves the threat of physical violence with a weapon to coerce a specific action.

• Example 2: A group of individuals breaks into a store after hours, smashing the front window with a crowbar and physically overpowering a security guard to gain access to the safe. The use of the crowbar to break in and the physical assault on the guard demonstrate armata vis, as it involves actual physical force and a weapon to achieve their criminal objective.

• Example 3: In a dispute over property boundaries, one neighbor constructs a fence using heavy machinery and physically blocks the other neighbor's access to a shared driveway, pushing them aside when they attempt to pass. The deployment of machinery to enforce a claim and the physical obstruction and pushing represent armata vis, as it is a forceful, physical assertion of control over property, backed by a show of physical power.