Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Barnes v. Felix Brief: Officers Must Be Held Accountable for Needless Deadly Force

by June 24, 2024
June 24, 2024
Barnes v. Felix Brief: Officers Must Be Held Accountable for Needless Deadly Force

Matthew Cavedon

Ashtian Barnes was driving a car his girlfriend rented, which had unpaid toll fees. Constable Felix stopped him. When the car started to pull away, Constable Felix decided to stand on its runner and fire his gun into the car before he could even see inside. Then, he fired a second shot. A bullet struck Barnes in the head and he died.

Barnes’s mother filed a lawsuit claiming that Constable Felix violated her son’s constitutional rights by killing him. The district court granted Felix qualified immunity. The Fifth Circuit agreed, holding that the reasonableness of a police seizure is determined based only on the “moment of threat.” In other words, all that mattered was that Constable Felix was in danger the instant he opened fire; it didn’t matter that Felix put himself in harm’s way by stepping onto Barnes’s moving car, nor that he killed Barnes over unpaid toll fees.

Cato, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), and the Center for Policing Equity filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision. The common law the Fourth Amendment is based on protected human life by limiting when officers could use deadly force. They couldn’t kill someone just for fleeing from being arrested for petty charges. Officers could only use deadly force to defend themselves if someone forcefully resisted them.

Upholding these traditional rules is important for restoring public confidence in police. A toxic combination of legal limits on liability and economic motives to collect tolls unfairly benefits Houston constables like Constable Felix. But the Supreme Court could promote better, safer policing by confirming that no one is above the law.

Ashtian Barnes didn’t die because he threatened anyone. He died because of Constable Felix’s bad decision, and the constable should be held accountable.

Read the brief here.

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Business Cases Could Loom Large at the Supreme Court Next Term
next post
Iran’s ayatollah wants the nuclear bomb before Nov. 5

You may also like

An Ominous Quiet on the Law Firm Revenge...

May 21, 2025

OECD’s Pillar One: A Step Towards Chaos Rather...

October 30, 2023

Unprecedented Student Visa Denials in 2022: 35% Rejected

May 31, 2023

Protectionist Elites Enrich Themselves at the Economy’s Broader...

July 23, 2025

Supreme Court Wrongly Upholds a Broadly Worded Speech Ban

June 23, 2023

Reminder to Republicans: Lots of Low-Hanging Tax Code...

February 10, 2025

Beltway Bandits

October 25, 2024

What Can the Feds Legally Demand of Columbia...

March 17, 2025

Chileans Vote to Step Back from the Socialist...

May 10, 2023

Colorado Supreme Court Rules Trump Off Ballot

December 20, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump’s Debanking Order Calls for Investigation, Something Tennessee Should Have Done

      August 10, 2025
    • Why customer reviews are crucial for small business success

      August 10, 2025
    • Why Clarkson’s Farm should tackle climate change – before the business of farming crumbles

      August 10, 2025
    • How SME Success Starts with Employee Wellbeing

      August 10, 2025
    • DVLA to roll out digital driving licences by end of year in major services overhaul

      August 10, 2025
    • Self-employed Britons face fines of up to £900 under new HMRC quarterly tax rules

      August 10, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,738)
    • Investing (2,191)
    • Politics (16,349)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved