Document Type
Article
Abstract
This essay analyzes the Supreme Court’s 2025 unanimous decision in Barnes v. Felix rejecting the moment of threat doctrine that limited courts assessing the reasonableness of a law enforcement officer’s use of force. Under this narrow time-framing approach, courts were limited to considering only those facts and circumstances known to the officer at the moment of the threat, and acts occurring before the officer seized the individual that may have contributed to the dangerous situation could not be considered. Rejecting this narrow approach, the Court reaffirmed its longstanding rule that in assessing the reasonableness of an officer’s use of force under the Fourth Amendment, courts must consider the totality of the circumstances which have no time limit. The Court, however, did not answer the harder and arguably more important question about when officer-created-jeopardy conduct may be considered, raising implications for future cases addressed here.
Recommended Citation
Cynthia Lee, Police Officer Use of Force and Officer-Created Jeopardy After Barnes v. Felix: The Supreme Court's Important (Albeit Incomplete) Step in the Right Direction, 17 ConLawNOW 13, 2025.