Crime & Federalism

Today a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that in a deadly force case brought under the Fourth Amendment, the jury must affirmative be instructed that: "The use of deadly force is inappropriate unless the police officer had probable cause to believe that the suspect posed a threat of serious harm to the officers or others."  It was thus reversible error to instruct the jury thusly:

In determining whether such force was not reasonably necessary, you must consider such factors as the need for force, the relationship for the need and amount of application of force, the extent of injury inflicted, and whether a reasonable officer on the scene, without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, would have used force under such circumstances.

Rahn  v. Hawkins, No. 05-3329 (8th Cir. Sept. 22, 2006).  In other words, a standard "totality of the circumstances" instruction is not appropriate in a deadly-force case.  The opinion is persuasive (no surprise, given that Judge Arnold wrote it!) and thus should be helpful to Section 1983 lawyers in other jurisdictions.