Also known as:exigency · exigencies · exigent circumstances
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Circumstances that are urgent and demand immediate action.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Detainee Seeks Hearing on Combatant Status
Federal officials detain Ethan Evans, a U.S. citizen captured on domestic soil and labeled an enemy combatant. Evans requests a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker to challenge the factual basis for his continued detention. The government proposes relaxed evidentiary rules and hearsay evidence because of ongoing military operations. The court permits the tailored procedures but requires that Evans receive some meaningful opportunity to contest the allegations.
Driver Grasps Wheel to Avoid Collision
Emily Ellis loses control of her vehicle on a wet road and instinctively reaches for the steering wheel under extreme time pressure from the impending crash. The surrounding exigent circumstances leave her little choice yet the motion still qualifies as her voluntary act. Liability may still be excused on other grounds, but the motion itself counts as an act.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Dictionaries
Officers Enter Home After Knock
Officers knock at Edward Everett's door and announce their presence while investigating drug activity. They hear sounds consistent with evidence being flushed down a toilet. Believing destruction is imminent, the officers force entry without a warrant and seize the contraband. The entry is upheld because the officers reasonably perceived an immediate threat to evidence and did not manufacture the urgency.
Police Seek Arrest Inside Residence
Officers arrive at Evelyn Ellison's home with probable cause to arrest her for a nonviolent offense. They lack an arrest warrant and have no information that she is currently inside. Without exigent circumstances, they cannot lawfully enter the home to effect the arrest. The officers instead obtain a warrant before attempting entry.
Minor Offense Prompts Home Entry
Officers respond to a noise complaint at Edith Eberhardt's residence and hear sounds suggesting evidence of the minor violation may be destroyed. They enter without a warrant. The government must demonstrate that the circumstances were sufficiently urgent to overcome the presumption against warrantless home entries. Because the offense is minor, the court finds the showing of exigency insufficient.
Rent Controls Extended After Conflict
Congress enacts rent controls on agricultural parcels near military logistics hubs following the end of overseas hostilities. Evergreen Bank, a lessor affected by the caps, challenges the statute as exceeding war powers once active fighting ceased. The controls remain valid because they address continuing national defense needs arising from the prior conflict and emerging tensions. The reasonable relationship to postwar exigencies sustains the legislation.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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When do exigent circumstances permit warrantless entry into a home?+
Exigent circumstances permit warrantless entry when officers reasonably believe evidence is being destroyed or a suspect is fleeing after committing a violent felony. The government bears the burden of proving the exigency, and minor offenses weigh against finding sufficient urgency. Officers may not create the exigency through their own Fourth Amendment violations.
Supporting sources
Does hot pursuit of a fleeing felon qualify as an exigent circumstance?+
Yes. Immediate and continuous pursuit of a person who has just committed a violent felony allows officers to enter a residence without a warrant. Officers may then conduct a search as broad as reasonably necessary to locate the suspect and neutralize threats to safety.
Supporting sources
How do military exigencies affect due process procedures for detained citizens?+
Military exigencies allow tailoring of procedures, such as relaxed evidentiary rules and use of hearsay, when a U.S. citizen held as an enemy combatant contests the factual basis for detention. The government may not, however, deny all opportunity for a meaningful hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.
Supporting sources
418 U.S. 323, 94 S. Ct. 2997, 41 L. Ed. 2d 789 (1974)Torts
…must embrace all issues about which information is needed or appropriate to enable the members of society to cope with the exigencies of their period." Thornhill v. Alabama , 310 U. S. 88, 102 (1940). The teaching to be distilled from our prior cases is that, while public interest in events may at times be influenced by…
Criminal Law Constitutional ProtectionsConstitutional protections of accused persons · Arrest, search, and seizure [Fourth Amendment]NEXTGENFoundational