Also known as: present · imminent · impending · immediate danger · imminent peril
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A threat of death or serious bodily harm that is immediate and unavoidable. The requirement limits the duress defense to situations in which the defendant had no reasonable opportunity to seek police assistance or otherwise avoid committing the crime.
Parker Phillips stood at the scene while an armed assailant ordered him to open a warehouse door for a burglary. The gun was pointed directly at Parker and the assailant stated he would shoot immediately if Parker refused. Because the threat was present, imminent and impending, Parker could raise duress as a defense to aiding the principal in the first degree.
Penelope Price received a note threatening immediate harm to her children unless she refused to answer questions before the grand jury. The threat was present, imminent and impending, so the government permitted her to invoke duress when deciding whether her absence from the session was justified.
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Piper Patel told her physician that she had been warned of an immediate attack on her family if she testified at trial. The statement described a present, imminent and impending threat and was therefore admissible under the medical-diagnosis exception when offered to support a duress claim.
Paula Pierce, a sitting judge, publicly warned that a pending criminal defendant would face severe consequences if he did not comply with an order. Because the warning created a present, imminent and impending risk of impairing fairness, the judicial conduct board found a violation of the rule against statements affecting pending matters.
Paige Porter raised her fist and shouted that she would strike Priscilla Parks at once unless Priscilla handed over her purse. The threat of harmful contact was present, imminent and impending, satisfying the intent element for battery under the Restatement even though no blow was ultimately delivered.
Prime Logistics' agent was served with process while changing planes in the forum state. The plaintiff argued that the brief presence created a present, imminent and impending obligation to answer the complaint, but the court held that transient jurisdiction attached regardless of any threat or duress analysis.
The defendant must prove that the threat of death or serious bodily harm was immediate and left no reasonable opportunity to seek police assistance or otherwise avoid the crime. Courts examine whether the peril was ongoing at the moment of the act and whether the defendant could have escaped or reported the threat.
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No. A future threat, even if credible, fails the requirement because the defendant retains the opportunity to seek help before the harm materializes. The defense is available only when the danger is immediate and the defendant has no realistic chance to avoid committing the crime.
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When the threat is present, imminent and impending, the law recognizes that the defendant had no meaningful chance to contact authorities. If any window existed to seek help, the threat does not meet the standard and the duress defense is unavailable.
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…involved. Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also the distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into…