Let’s break down the recent SCOTUS decision of Barnes v. Felix, which claims to address the issue of whether a jury in a police involved shooting case should consider only the facts at the moment of crisis or instead should consider facts preceding the moment of crisis.
In fact, thought he decision denies it, I suspect this is an effort by the liberal members of SCOTUS to kick the door open on the faulty legal concept of “officer created jeopardy.”
Welcome back. Great presentation.
Overview from “forcescience.com” on this SCOTUS Decision may be of interest to LOSD Members: https://www.forcescience.com/2025/05/barnes-v-felix-exposes-the-false-dichotomy-of-moment-of-decision-vs-totality-of-the-circumstances/
A civil action under 42 USC 1983 is only concerned with whether the officer’s actions violated the constitution. Claims of Fourth Amendment violations hold no direct relevance or binding authority in state criminal cases. State criminal laws forbid certain individual conduct such as murder, while the Fourth Amendment only forbids the government from engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures. Presence or absence of a constitutional violation has no effect on the officer’s criminal liability. Only the state’s criminal law and the related justifications are relevant to criminal liability.
I would be less concerned with this case than with police and civil leadership throwing officers under the bus in the face of mob “justice.”