11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O62

18 U.S.C. §§ 1581 and 1584

It’s a Federal crime to wilfully hold another person in involuntary servitude.

The Defendant can be found guilty of this crime only if all the following

facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) the Defendant kept [person’s name] in a condition of involuntary

servitude;

(2) Defendant kept that person for a substantial or significant amount

of time; [and]

(3) the Defendant acted knowingly and willfully[.] [; and]

[(4) the Defendant compelled the involuntary servitude in order to

satisfy a real or imagined debt.]

“Involuntary servitude” means forced or compulsory labor or service for

someone else’s benefit that a person unwillingly performs because of the use or

threat of coercion through law or the legal process, or because of the use or threat

of physical restraint or physical injury.

It makes no difference whether the person initially voluntarily agreed to

perform the work or service. And it doesn’t matter whether a person is paid a

salary or a wage. What matters is whether the person did the work willingly at all

times. If a person begins work willingly and later wants to stop but is forced to

continue because another person uses or threatens to use some kind of coercion or

restraint or cause physical injury, the service becomes involuntary.

So even if the person is paid, the service is involuntary if the person is

forced to work against the person’s will by the use of threats or coercion.

But the Government must prove that the Defendant knowingly and willfully

used or threatened to use coercion and caused the person to reasonably believe that

there was no way to avoid continuing to work.

Legally, servitude becomes involuntary when coercion is sufficient to

completely overcome the will of an ordinary person who has the same general

station in life as the victim and causes the victim to believe that there is no

reasonable means of escape and no choice but to continue working for the

Defendant.

To decide whether a person reasonably believed there was no way to avoid

continued service, you must consider:

• the method or form of coercion threatened or used in relation to

the person’s particular circumstances and conditions;

• the person’s physical and mental condition;

• the person’s age, education, training, experience, and intelligence;

and

• any reasonable means or chances the person may have had to

escape.

The Government must also prove that the person was forced to work for

some significant or substantial amount of time. It doesn’t have to be a specific

length of time, just some length that is more than trivial.