On May 15, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Barnes v. Felix, fundamentally altering the legal evaluation of excessive force claims under the Fourth Amendment. The ruling rejected the narrow “moment-of-threat” doctrine previously applied by the Fifth Circuit, mandating that courts assess the “totality of the circumstances” when determining the reasonableness of police force instead.

This decision not only resolves a significant circuit split but also carries broad implications for law enforcement accountability and civil rights litigation across the United States.

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