Source: US News & World Report
“The U.S. Supreme Court revived on Thursday a Texas woman’s civil rights lawsuit against a Houston police officer who fatally shot her son during a traffic stop. The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, threw out a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit by Janice Hughes accusing the officer, Roberto Felix Jr., of violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures by using deadly force against her son. Ashtian Barnes, 24, was killed in the 2016 incident. The case tested whether lower courts should analyze police conduct by considering only the exact ‘moment of threat’ to the officer, while excluding the officer’s actions prior to the deadly episode — even by a few seconds.” (05/15/25)