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Are Threats Always "Violent" Crimes?, Jeremy D. Feinstein

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that because the generally accepted legal meaning of violence is the use - or the risk of the use - of physical force so as to injure, damage, or abuse, threats only should be considered violent if they involve a risk of the use of physical force. Part I examines the substantive law of threats to determine if they inherently involve a risk of the use of physical force, and concludes that they do not. Part II studies the meaning of the term violence, and argues that both courts and dictionaries understand the term to mean the …