Forcible Entry Or Detainer

A forcible entry or detainer consists in violently taking or keeping possession of lands or tenements, by means of threats, force, or arms, and without authority of law.

Comyn, Dig.; Gabbett, Crim. Law; 52 Barb. (N. Y.) 198; 4 Cush. (Mass.) 141.

Though generally referred to in the conjunctive, forcible entry and forcible detainer are distinct acts.

31 Cal. 122.

To authorize either a criminal prosecution or an action of forcible entry and detainer at common law, both entry and detainer must be forcible (93 Ind. 211); but a forcible entry will relate back to the entry, if that was unlawful, though peaceable; otherwise, if the entry was lawful (45 CaL 597). In Modern Usage. The possessory action of forcible entry and detainer has been extended by statute to certain cases of constructive force, as where a tenant holds over after his term.