Vol. 40 No. 11 IN RESOLVING FOURTH AMENDMENT EXCESSIVE-FORCE CLAIMS, COURTS MAY NOT APPLY THE MOMENT-OF-THREAT RULE BECAUSE THAT RULE CONSTRICTS THE PROPER INQUIRY INTO THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES
In Barnes v. Felix, the United States Supreme Court concluded that, in evaluating a police shooting, a rule used by the Fifth Circuit that looks only to the circumstances existing at the precise time an officer perceived the threat inducing him to shoot improperly narrows the requisite Fourth Amendment analysis. In rejecting this “moment-of-threat” rule, […]