In Barnes v. Felix, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that courts evaluating Fourth Amendment excessive-force claims in Section 1983 lawsuits against law enforcement officers must consider the “totality of the...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision today: Barnes v. Felix, No. 23-1239: This criminal procedure case concerns the proper scope of analysis for Fourth Amendment excessive force claims....more
Events from recent years related to alleged police misconduct raised major questions surrounding the protections afforded by qualified immunity to police officers in excessive force claims. Two recent Supreme Court decisions...more
Law enforcement critics have launched concerted attacks on the doctrine of qualified immunity in an effort to mischaracterize the doctrine as allowing police officers to escape liability for clearly unconstitutional conduct. ...more
In a 5-3 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Torres v. Madrid that a woman who was shot while fleeing from police officers was “seized,” even though she remained at large. ...more
The US Supreme Court issued an Opinion April 2, 2018 (Kisela v. Hughes) that a Tucson Police officer was justified in shooting a woman who was holding a knife near her roommate after the woman was reported exhibiting...more
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Tucson police officer who shot a woman four times could not be sued for violating the woman’s Constitutional rights. The case is a significant win for government officials. It’s a...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions today: Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, No. 16-1362: The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that employers pay covered employees overtime compensation,...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions yesterday: National Assn. of Mfrs. v. Department of Defense, No. 16-299: In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers...more
The United States Supreme Court recently held that an officer’s use of deadly force by shooting an armed individual before issuing a verbal warning did not violate a clearly established Fourth Amendment right, and therefore,...more
On May 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan, No. 13-1412, holding that police officers were entitled to qualified immunity against a constitutional claim based on...more