Brief filed: 11/20/2024
Documents
Barnes v. Felix
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 23-1239
Argument(s)
This Court has consistently applied the “totality ofthe circumstances” test when considering Fourth Amendment claims of excessive force. Rather than narrowing its focus on a specific moment during a seizure, the Court asks whether a seizure was objectively reasonable, an inquiry that necessitates review of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the seizure. The Fifth Circuit’s “moment of the threat” doctrine abandons this Court’s precedent by circumscribing its review of excessive force claims, as exemplified by this case. This brief highlights the inconsistency of the Fifth Circuit’s approach with this Court’s “totality of the circumstances” precedent in Fourth Amendment excessive force cases that repeatedly considered the events and facts prior to the moment of seizure when analyzing the reasonableness of an officer’s actions.
Author(s)
Shana-Tara O’Toole, Due Process Institute, Washington, DC; Douglas E. Litvack, Emanuel Powell III, Julius J. Mitchell, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington DC
