parent nodes: 42 USC 1983 | common law | Criminal Law | extortion

extortion

Extortion is obtaining property by a wrongful use of fear, induced by a threat to do an unlawful injury.

Doctrine

A person is guilty of theft if he purposely obtains property of another by threatening to:
(1) inflict bodily injury on anyone or commit any other criminal offense; or
(2) accuse anyone of a criminal offense; or
(3) expose any secret tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or to impair his credit or business repute; or
(4) take or withhold action as an official, or cause an official to take or withhold action; or
(5) bring about or continue a strike, boycott or other collective unofficial action, if the property is not demanded or received for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act; or
(6) testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or
(7) inflict any other harm which would not benefit the actor.
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution based on paragraphs (2), (3) or (4) that the property obtained by threat of accusation, exposure, lawsuit or other invocation of official action was honestly claimed as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstances to which such accusation, exposure, lawsuit or other official action relates, or as compensation for property or lawful services.
MPC 223.4

Epstein: if blackmail were not illegal, it would become commercialized and widespread.

Blackmail creates a bilateral monopoly, which creates the opportunity for fraud and uncertainty in negotiations. In practice, blackmail creates a continuing system of small repetitive payments, since demanding a large sum at the outset of the blackmail would encourage defection by the blackmaillee.

Cases finding extortion
[People v Dioguardi] (extorting payment by union official to stop picketing)
[People v Harrington] (obtaining photos of husband's adultery, then demanding money not to use the photos in a divorce proceeding for adultery)

Cases finding no extortion
[McCormick v US] (campaign contribution to legislator in exchange for legislator's supporting bill -- note that an explicit quid pro quo would be sufficient to support a charge of extortion)


[alias: blackmail]