Written by: Kelly Talty
On January 22, 2025, th
e Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Barnes v. Felix. The case raises the issue of what standard should be applied when to determine the threshold for excessive force used by police officers.
Officer Roberto Felix Jr. of the Harris County Constable’s Office initiated a routine traffic stop by pulling over Ashtian Barnes because the license plate on his car was flagged for unpaid tolls. Officer Felix instructed Barnes to present his license and registration. In response, Barnes began to pull away from the traffic stop. Officer Felix then jumped on top of Barnes’s car and shot Barnes twice. Barnes passed away as the result of his gunshot wounds. The attorneys for Officer Felix claim that he feared for his life as Barnes continued to drive away while Officer Felix was hanging on top of the vehicle.
The Justices of the Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari filed by Barnes’s estate. The petition urges the Court to review the “moment of the threat doctrine“ applicable to § 1983 claims for use of excessive force by a police officer. §1983 is a federal law that allows individuals to sue any state or local official who violates their federally protected rights.
The doctrine allows the court to only look at the moment an officer decides to use force in determining if excessive force was used.
Before going up to the Supreme Court, this case came from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth District. At the court of appeals level, the court decided to uphold the use of the moment of threat doctrine. The court explained that any of the officer’s actions leading up to the injury are not relevant, only the circumstances at the moment the officer decided to fire the gun at the victim.
The district court granted Officer Felix’s motion for summary judgment as they ruled Officer Felix was justified in his use of force.
there was no constitutional violation of Barnes’s Fourth Amendment right to not have police officers use excessive force against those in their custody. The district court used the moment of threat doctrine, acknowledging that at the time Officer Felix decided to use deadly force, he believed that Barnes would run him over.
The standard would only apply to civil rights litigation pertaining to the use of unreasonable force by police officers. Under § 1983, police officers may not use excessive force while on patrol.
The decision by the Supreme Court would clarify a decision handed down in 1989, Graham v. Connor, which established that courts should look at the totality of the circumstances for § 1983 claims. The totality of the circumstances allows the court to consider the circumstances surrounding the crime such as, the crime being committed, if the suspect is evading arrest and how dangerous the suspect appears to be. The courts of appeals are currently split on how they apply the Graham rule. Some courts look at what the officer did in the moment they are threatened while others take the totality of the circumstances approach.
The attorneys representing Barnes’s estate are arguing for the totality of the circumstances rule to be applied to the current case. Ruling in favor in the totality of the circumstances would allow courts to look at more than just the few seconds before an officer decides to use force. Courts would now be able to look at the minutes leading up to the officer’s decision in determining if excessive force was used and the suspect’s fourth amendment rights were violated.
Officer Felix’s attorneys argue that allowing the courts to comb over an officer’s actions retrospectively is not fair. Officers only have a split-second to make a decision, but the courts would be able to look over all of the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine if excessive force was used in an approach known as the moment of threat doctrine. Police officers typically have qualified immunity over their actions. However, qualified immunity does not apply if the officer’s actions are found to violate the U.S. Constitution or any federal law.
Based on the oral argument at the Supreme Court, the Justices seem to be inclined to side with the totality of the circumstances doctrine. The decision, which is scheduled to be released at the end of the Supreme Court’s term, will impact how “excessive use of force“ is defined across the country.
Sources:
Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Seems Ready to Reject Limit on Excessive-Force Suits, New York Times (Jan. 22, 2025).
Barnes v. Felix, 91 F.4th 393 (5th Cir. 2024).
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989).
Lawrence Hurley, Supreme Court Leans Toward Reviving Excessive Claim Against Cop Who Killed a Black Man in a Traffic Stop, NBC News (Jan 22, 2025, 12:26PM).
Marco Poggio, Justices Skeptical of ‘Moment of Threat’ Rule in Use of Force, Law360 (Jan. 22, 2025, 7:14PM).
42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 (LexisNexis).