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SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required ‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claims
Loaded on May 15, 2025
by David Kim
published in Criminal Legal News
June, 2025, page 42
Filed under:
Shootings,
Police--Excessive Force,
Excessive Force (Police),
Fourth Amendment, rights.
Location:
Texas.
The Supreme Court of the United States held that courts may not apply the “moment-of-threat” doctrine when evaluating the reasonableness of police officers’ use of deadly force involving claims of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment because the doctrine improperly narrows the requisite inquiry into the “totality …
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More from this issue:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, by Dale Chappell
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, by Casey Bastian
- Los Angeles Criminal Legal System Undermined by Months of Faulty DNA Testing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, by David Reutter
- Maryland Reforms Offer Second Chances on Expungement and Parole, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions on Self-defense and Defense of Others, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit Announces What Constitutes ‘Otherwise Using’ a Dangerous Weapon for Purposes of the Four-Level Enhancement Under Guidelines § 2B3.1(a), by Sagi Schwartzberg
- Car Subscriptions: Another Means of Mass Surveillance by Law Enforcement, by David Kim
- The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure, by David Kim
- Illinois Supreme Court: Use of Flashlight by Police to See Through Small Gap in Chained and Padlocked Kitchen Cabinet Doors Constitutes ‘Search’ Under Fourth Amendment, by Jeffrey Cohen
- Illinois ‘Murderer’ Registry Punishes More Than It Protects, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, by Anthony Accurso
- Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine Whether Applicant Intended to Waive Right to Counsel and Whether Done Knowingly, Vol, by Phillip Wasserman, J.D.
- SCOTUS Announces Knowingly or Intentionally Causing Bodily Injury or Death by ‘Omission’ Necessarily Involves ‘Use’ of ‘Physical Force’ for Purposes of § 924(c), by David Kim
- Blindfolded Juries, Coerced Convictions: Why Prosecutors Often Win Before Trials Even Begin, by Clark Neily
- Facial Recognition at the Border: CBP’s Push to Scan Every Car Passenger Sparks Privacy Concerns, by David Kim
- Bipartisan Legislative Wins in Virginia and Utah Expand Job Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, by Jo Ellen Nott
- South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Traditional Four-Element Standard for When Person Has Right to Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense Not Applicable to Non-Deadly Force Self-Defense Analysis, by Richard Resch
- Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method, by James Mills
- Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’, by Jeffrey Cohen
- SCOTUS Announces Rejection of ‘Moment-of-Threat Doctrine’ Because It Improperly Narrows Required ‘Totality of the Circumstances’ Analysis for Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claims, by David Kim
- ‘Sexome’ Bacteria Offers New Path to Justice in Sexual Assault Cases Where DNA Is Not Present, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row, by David Kim
- SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements That Are ‘Misleading’ but True, by Richard Resch
- News in Brief
More from David Kim:
- California Supreme Court Announces Single Criminal Act Harming Multiple Victims Constitutes Only One Strike Under Three Strikes Law, Jan. 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Duration of GPS Monitoring Must Be Considered in Individualized Reasonableness Determination and Resulting Monitoring Period May Be Shorter Than Probationary Term, Jan. 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026
- Tiny Plants, Big Consequences: Moss Evidence in Courtrooms, Jan. 1, 2026
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches, Jan. 1, 2026
- Delaware Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must First Resolve Defense Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Before Addressing Defendant’s Plea-Withdrawal Request, Holding Failure to Do So Violates Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Jan. 1, 2026
- Iowa Supreme Court Announces Framework for Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Eyewitness Identification, Holding Generalized Testimony on Psychological Factors Ordinarily Should Be Admitted, Jan. 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces “Shaking Without Impact” Expert Testimony Inadmissible, Holding Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis Lacks Required General Acceptance Within Biomechanical Engineering Community Under Frye, Dec. 15, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Grants Equitable Tolling Under AEDPA Where Attorney Abandoned Prisoner by Failing to Communicate for Nine Months and Prison Officials Delayed Processing Filing Documents, Dec. 15, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Announces Abandonment Doctrine Applies to Cellphones but Courts Must Analyze Intent to Abandon Device Separately From Intent to Abandon Data, Dec. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Massive $112 Million Jury Verdict for Detainees Held in New York Jail Past Release Date on ICE Detainers, Jan. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Detention - Generally, Unlawful Detention, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Damages - Compensatory.
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches, Jan. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Privacy Act/Rights, State Constitutional Claims.
- Ninth Circuit Announces Abandonment Doctrine Applies to Cellphones but Courts Must Analyze Intent to Abandon Device Separately From Intent to Abandon Data, Dec. 15, 2025. Fourth Amendment, rights, Cell-Phones, Motions To Suppress, Digital Devices, Seizure.
- Ohio Sheriff Agrees to Outside Probe in Investigation of Jailed Double Amputee’s Death, Dec. 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Brooklyn Jail Guard Convicted for Shooting and Car Chase, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Shootings, Guards/Staff, Wrongful Use of Force, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- For Delay in Summoning Medical Care for Detainees, Alabama Jailers Granted Immunity But California Trooper Headed to Trial, Nov. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Fourth Amendment, rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Drones and License Plate Readers: Police Creating Warrantless Aerial Surveillance Networks, Oct. 15, 2025. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Warrantless Searches, Curtilege, Electronic Surveillance.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Police Cannot Execute Anticipatory Warrant Absent Triggering Event Regardless of Whether Factual Allegations in Warrant Affidavit Independently Give Rise to Probable Cause to Search, Thereby Providing Greater, Oct. 15, 2025. Search warrants, Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Execution, State Constitutional Claims.
- How to Build a Human; A Forensics Company Tells Cops It Can Use DNA to Predict a Suspect’s Face. Scientists Worry the Tool Will Deepen Racial Bias., Sept. 15, 2025. Forensic Sciences, Fourth Amendment, rights, DNA Evidence, Advanced Imaging Technology.
- Beyond the City Limits: How Rural Sheriff’s Departments Are Driving the Spike in Police Killings, Aug. 1, 2025. Excessive Force, Shootings, Police--Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police).
