Supreme Court Rules 9–0 That Excessive Force Lawsuit May Proceed Against Police Officer

The justices held that courts must look at the Fourth Amendment when considering such cases.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan stands during a group photograph of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on May 15 that the mother of a man killed by police during a traffic stop may pursue a civil rights lawsuit against the officer who shot him.

The nation’s highest court found that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit wrongly focused solely on the moment that the allegedly excessive force was used, as opposed to the moments leading up to the use of force.