Opinion ID: 43670
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Involuntary Servitude

Text: The Thirteenth Amendment provides that “[n]either slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime . . ., shall exist within the United States. . . .” U.S. Const. Amend XIII, § 1. As stated by the Supreme Court, “[t]he primary purpose of the [Thirteenth] Amendment was to abolish the institution of African slavery as it had existed in the United States at the time of the Civil War. . . .” United States v. Kozminski, 487 U.S. 931, 942, 108 S. Ct. 2751, 2759 (1988). In Kozminski, the Supreme Court noted that “in every case in which this Court has found a condition of involuntary servitude, the victim had no available choice but to work or be subject to legal sanction.” Id. at 943, 108 S. Ct. 2760. In this case, Greenberg has failed to state a cause of action under the Thirteenth Amendment. Alimony is not the type of subject matter the Thirteenth Amendment was designed to address. Further, the Florida alimony provisions do not employ the use of physical or legal coercion to force people into involuntary 6 servitude. Although Floridians who are required to pay alimony must do so or face consequences, such as being held in contempt of court, the district court correctly concluded that this does not amount to involuntary servitude.2