willful
Defined in 4 dictionaries — Case Law, Cyclopedic (1922), Ballentine's (1916), Black's (1910)
Definitions from Case Law
From 314 U.S. 513 - United States v. Ragen · 1942Most cited · 501 citing opinions
A mind intent upon willful evasion is inconsistent with surprised innocence.
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
In the common sense, voluntary or intentional. In criminal law, the term generally means more than "voluntary," and implies an evil mind or intent. 96 U. S. 699; 140 Ind. 246; 20 Pick. [Mass.] 206; 14 Tex. App. 200. Thus, one who acts in good faith, believing that no highway existed at that place, is not guilty of "willfully" obstructing a highway. 34 Wis. 675.
Ballentine's Law Dictionary
James A. Ballentine · 1916
Ordinarily means intentional as distinguished from accidental or involuntary, but in penal statutes it means with evil intent or legal malice, or without reasonable ground to believe the act lawful. See 55 Tex. Cr. 164, 131 Am. St. Rep. 809, 115 S. W. 597.
Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
Proceeding from a conscious motion of the will; intending the result which actually comes to pass; designed; intentional ; malicious. A willful differs essentially from a negligent act. The one is positive and the other negative. Intention is always separated from negligence by a precise line" of demarkation. Sturm v. Atlantic Mut. Ins. Co., 38 N. Y. Super. Ct. 317. In common parlance, "willful" is used in the Sense of "intentional," as distinguished from "accidental" or "involuntary." But language of a stafute affixing a punishment to acts done willfully may be restricted to such acts done with an unlawful intent. U. S. v. Boyd (C. O.) 45 Fed. 855; State v. Clark, 29 N. J. Law, 96.