The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a critical case concerning how courts should evaluate excessive force claims brought under the Fourth Amendment. The case arose out of Harris County, Texas, where Constable Roberto Felix pulled over Ashtian Barnes, who was driving his girlfriend's rental car. The car had outstanding toll fees--some of which fund the Harris County Constable's Office. During the stop, Mr. Barnes's left blinker turned on and the car started moving. Constable Felix jumped onto the car and opened fire, killing Mr. Barnes. In assessing the reasonableness of this use of deadly force, the Fifth Circuit applied the so-called moment of threat test. That minority approach limits a court to considering only whether a threat existed at the precise moment force is used, rather than the totality of the circumstances--as a court would have considered at common law. In this case, that meant the Fifth Circuit asked only whether Constable Felix was in danger the instant he opened fire, which he plainly was. The court disregarded other facts, like that the initial stop was for a petty offense and that Constable Felix placed himself in harm's way by jumping onto the moving car.
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- United States of America
