Also known as: imminent threats · imminent danger
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A danger or risk of harm that is about to occur without delay. The condition requires that the threatened injury be immediate rather than remote or contingent, so that defensive measures or special governmental powers become available only when action cannot safely await further events.
State officials learn that armed forces from a neighboring country have crossed the border and are advancing toward populated areas. Because the invasion creates an imminent threat that will not admit of delay, the state mobilizes its militia and engages the intruders without first obtaining congressional consent.
A delivery driver becomes trapped inside a collapsed warehouse while making a scheduled stop. The employer learns of the entrapment yet fails to send rescue equipment, allowing the driver to suffer serious injuries that could have been prevented by prompt action.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
School officials suspend a student who declines to salute the flag during a daily classroom exercise. The student claims the requirement creates an imminent threat to personal conscience that cannot be postponed until after graduation or transfer.
Police officers ticket homeless individuals for sleeping on sidewalks after sunset. The individuals argue that the ordinance imposes an imminent threat of repeated arrests that prevents them from obtaining stable housing or employment.
A passenger draws a firearm after four youths approach him on a train, one displaying a weapon. The passenger claims he faced an imminent threat of robbery and serious injury that justified the use of deadly force.
A city enacts a noise ordinance that limits demonstrations near school buildings during class hours. Challengers contend the law is vague because it fails to define when student activity creates an imminent threat of disruption.
An imminent threat exists only when harm is about to occur without delay, so that defensive force becomes necessary at that moment. A conditional or future threat leaves time for other responses and therefore does not justify immediate force.
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Yes. When the defendant has time to rest or engage in ordinary activities, the law treats the initial danger as no longer imminent and requires proof that the defendant actually cooled off before acting.
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The exception applies when danger is so pressing that delay is impossible, even if invasion has not yet occurred, provided the threat is immediate rather than speculative.
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The master or a management-level person must know that the servant faces imminent danger of serious harm while acting within the scope of employment, triggering a duty to exercise reasonable care to avert the harm.
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Standing may exist when the ordinance imposes a credible threat of repeated prosecution that chills protected conduct, but the threat must be immediate rather than merely possible in the future.
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…case of how much pressure on the suspect was permissible.[^maj-4] Among the criteria often taken into account were threats or imminent danger, e. g. , Payne v. Arkansas , 356 U. S. 560, physical deprivations such as lack of sleep or food, e. g. , Reck v. Pate , 367 U. S. 433, repeated or extended interrogation, e. g. ,…