I am not a lawyer. Do not consider this to be legal advice. This information is merely being presented to provide a basic understanding of what the law looks for in a self-defense situation. All information has been researched and will be cited when applicable.
After reading Part 1 of the series, hopefully you have a better understanding of what innocence means. In Part 2 we will discuss imminence from a home defense perspective. A great definition of Imminence can be found below:
Immediate danger, such as must be instantly met, such as cannot be guarded against by calling for the assistance of others or the protection of the law…such an appearance of threatened and impending injury as would put a reasonable and prudent man to his instant defense."
-Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Edition (1979)
In basic terms, you must be in imminent danger of grievous bodily harm or death and there may not be anyone else available to help you for self defense to be considered. If during an attack you at any point have a way out, can depend on someone else to save you (such as the police) and/or are not directly in risk of grievous bodily harm or death then the threat is not imminent.
A great method to evaluate imminence is the AOJ Triad. If all three of the triad are present then imminence is somewhat guaranteed.
Ability
Does an intruder have the ability to cause grievous bodily harm or death? Are they able to get to you inside your home or barricaded room?
Opportunity
Does the intruder have the opportunity to cause harm? If they are carrying a knife, they do not have the opportunity if there are barriers in between them and you. If they have a gun and you are not behind bulletproof material then they do have opportunity.
Jeopardy
Jeopardy exists when an intruder has both Ability and Opportunity and is behaving in a manner that they intend on causing harm to you or those in your household.
A great way that I have seen this put in Andrew Branca’s book “The Law of Self Defense Principles” is to look at a security guard or police officer standing guard. They have the ability (they are in possession of a weapon), they have the opportunity (they could choose to use their weapon), but they do not have jeopardy (they are not acting in a manner that is intent on causing harm.)
Let’s look at some examples strictly from a home defense perspective:
If there is a person screaming that they are going to kill you in your front yard and they have no weapon, are you in imminent danger? No.
An intruder is attempting to kick in the door but have not made entry yet, are you in imminent danger? You might be soon, but not yet.
You live in a two-story house and an intruder has made entry but has not made any movement up to the second floor where everyone is sleeping, are they an imminent threat? No, not until they begin to make their way upstairs.
If you are backed into a room and have set up a defensible position in a bedroom and an intruder is kicking down the door, are you in danger? In my opinion, yes.
You must take into consideration how imminent an attack is before you attempt to use lethal force. In some states, there may be self defense laws that favor the person being attacked, but a prosecutor will still look to see if imminence was present. Please do your research on imminence and decide for yourself at what point you feel a threat would be imminent enough for you to use lethal force. A few particular factors that can guide your decision are age, physical ability, and whether or not you are alone. If I as a 32-year-old can quickly and efficiently move through my home then something might not be imminent to me that would be for an elderly person who is unwell. However, as a person who has two young children, imminence may play a different role than a single person who lives alone.
Evaluate your own home defense plan and think about what might cause a threat to become imminent and prepare accordingly.
Stay safe. Stay practical. Stay educated.
-Pat
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