Page 23 - TPA Journal July-August 2025

Facts of Barnes (from the Supreme Court opin- Procedural History, (from the Supreme Court
ion): opinion, citations omitted):

“On the afternoon of April 28, 2016, Roberto “Barnes’s mother, Janice Barnes, sued Felix on
Felix, Jr., a law enforcement officer patrolling a her son’s behalf. The suit, brought under 42
highway outside Houston, received a radio alert U.S.C. § 1983, alleged that Felix had violated
about an automobile on the road with outstanding Ashtian Barnes’s Fourth Amendment rights by
toll violations. Felix soon spotted the car, a Toyota using excessive force against him.
Corolla, and turned on his emergency lights to ini-
tiate a traffic stop. The driver, Ashtian Barnes, The District Court granted summary judgment to
pulled over to the highway’s shoulder. Felix. The court explained that to prevail on her
claim, Mrs. Barnes needed to show that Felix’s
Parking his own car just behind, Felix walked to use of force was “objectively unreasonable.”. In
the Corolla’s driver-side door and asked Barnes the usual excessive-force case, the court noted, the
for his license and proof of insurance. Barnes inquiry into reasonableness would involve consid-
replied that he did not have his license with him, ering a variety of circumstances. But when an
and that the car was a rental in his girlfriend’s officer has used deadly force, the court continued,
name. As he spoke, Barnes rummaged through “the Fifth Circuit has developed a much narrower
some papers inside the car, causing Felix to tell approach.” Then, a court could ask only about the
him several times to stop “digging around.” Felix situation existing “at the moment of the threat”
also commented that he smelled marijuana, and that sparked the fatal shooting. The District Court
asked if there was anything in the car he should identified that moment as “the two seconds before
know about. Barnes responded that he might have Felix fired his first shot,” when he was standing on
some identification in the trunk. So Felix told him the doorsill of a moving vehicle. At that moment,
to open the trunk from his seat. Barnes did so, the court found, an officer could reasonably think
while also turning off the ignition. All that hap- himself “at risk of serious harm.” And under the
pened (as a dashcam recording of the incident Fifth Circuit’s rule, that fact alone concluded the
shows) in less than two minutes. analysis. The court explained that it could not con-
sider “what had transpired up until” those last two
Then things began moving even faster. With his seconds, including Felix’s decision to jump onto
right hand resting on his holster, Felix told Barnes the sill. Although a “more robust examination”
to get out of the car. Barnes opened the door but might have aided in assessing the reasonableness
did not exit; instead, he turned the ignition back of the shooting, the court was “duty bound” by
on. Felix unholstered his gun and, as the car began “Circuit precedent” to “limit[ its] focus” to the
to move forward, jumped onto its doorsill. He “exact moment Felix was hanging onto Barnes’s”
twice shouted, “Don’t fucking move.” And with moving car.’
no visibility into the car (because his head was
above the roof), he fired two quick shots inside. The [5 th Circuit] Court of Appeals affirmed,
Barnes was hit, but managed to stop the car. Felix explaining that it too was “[b]ound” by “this
then radioed for back-up. By the time it arrived, Circuit’s moment of threat doctrine.” Under that
Barnes was dead. All told, about five seconds rule, the panel agreed, the “inquiry is confined to
elapsed between when the car started moving and whether the officer[ ]” was “in danger at the
when it stopped. And within that period, two sec- moment of the threat that resulted in [his] use of
onds passed between the moment Felix stepped on deadly force.” Any prior events “leading up to the
the doorsill and the moment he fired his first shooting,” including actions the officer took, were
shot.” simply “not relevant.” And here, as the District
Court found, the “precise moment of the threat”

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