WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A unanimous on Thursday revived a civil rights lawsuit against a Texas police officer who shot a man to death during a traffic stop over unpaid tolls.
The justices ordered the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take a new look at the case of , who died in his rental car in April 2016 on the shoulder of the Sam Houston Tollway in Houston.
Barnes was shot by Officer Roberto Felix Jr., who jumped on the sill of the driver鈥檚 door of Barnes鈥� car as it began to pull away from the stop. Felix fired twice in two seconds because he 鈥渞easonably feared for his life,鈥� his lawyers wrote in their Supreme Court brief.
Lower courts had dismissed the excessive force lawsuit filed against Felix by Barnes鈥� mother, Janice Hughes. The issue before the justices was whether those lower courts used the right standard, evaluating Felix鈥檚 actions only at the 鈥渕oment of the threat鈥� that caused him to shoot Barnes.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court that courts should look at the 鈥渢otality of the circumstances鈥� to evaluate the suit against Felix. The standard embraced by the court Thursday often will be friendlier to plaintiffs in civil rights cases.
Barnes had been driving to pick up his girlfriend鈥檚 daughter from day care when he was pulled over by Felix, who received a radio message that the license plate on Barnes鈥� car had unpaid tolls associated with it. Barnes鈥� girlfriend had rented the car, and Barnes was unaware of the outstanding tolls, according to court records.