SCOTUS revives suit against officer in fatal shooting

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By Sara Merken

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The U.S. Supreme Court revived a Texas woman's civil rights lawsuit against a Houston police officer who fatally shot her son during a traffic stop. Read more about the case.

The justices 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. Here's the 9-0 ruling.

In New York: A&O Shearman picked up restructuring partner Ned Schodek from Schulte … Morgan Lewis added Tony Zacharski to its global investment management team from Dechert … Foley & Lardner hired litigation partners Kenneth Breen and Phara Guberman from Cadwalader … Mayer Brown added fund formation partner David Kreisler from DLA Piper … Kirkland hired liquidity solutions partners Andrew Gershon from Debevoise and Semhar Woldai from Weil … Breon Peace, who was Brooklyn's U.S. attorney, rejoined Cleary Gottlieb as a partner … Pierson Ferdinand brought on commercial litigation partner Michael Delaney from McElroy Deutsch … Milbank brought on corporate finance and securities partner Adam Brenneman from Cleary Gottlieb … Real estate partner Alana Sliwinski joined Dentons from Troutman Pepper Locke.

In D.C.: Former FERC chairman Willie Phillips and Ronan Gulstone, former chief of staff and senior legal advisor with FERC, joined Holland & Knight as partners … Patrick Childress, former assistant general counsel in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, also joined Holland & Knight … Milbank added tax renewables partner John Green from King & Spalding … K&L Gates hired public policy partners Marne Marotta and David Skillman from Arnold & Porter … Venable brought back IP litigation partner Meaghan Kent from Morgan Lewis … Maryland's former U.S. attorney Erek Barron joined Mintz as chair of its crisis management and strategic response practice … Hogan Lovells added partner Jerrob Duffy to its investigations, white collar, and fraud practice from Squire Patton Boggs … King & Spalding hired partner Patrick Murphy for its special matters and government investigations practice from Fresenius Medical Care …  Jenner & Block picked up Matt Pearl, former director for emerging technologies and special advisor at the White House National Security Council … Robert Silvers, former under secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, joined Ropes & Gray as co-chair of its national security practice in D.C. and Silicon Valley. 

In Chicago: Foley & Lardner added digital infrastructure partners Daniel Farris and Joe McClendon from Norton Rose Fulbright … Seyfarth Shaw hired employee benefits partner Lisa Loesel from McDermott … Sheppard Mullin added healthcare partner Linas Grikis from Polsinelli.

In San Francisco: Withers hired tech litigation partner Jessica Nall as partner and leader of its executive crisis management and defense practice from Baker McKenzie … Frost Brown Todd picked up commercial litigation partner Simon Levy from Keesal, Young & Logan.

Across other cities: Fennemore will combine with Phoenix-based employment law and litigation firm BurnsBarton … Jackson Walker hired Nathan Hecht, former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, as a partner in Austin … In London, Akin hired tech and IP partner Natasha Ahmed from Orrick and international arbitration partner Jonathan Brierley from White & Case … Foley & Lardner added commercial litigation partner Joseph Dowdy in Raleigh, North Carolina, from Kilpatrick Townsend … Morgan Lewis added investment finance partner Christopher Lawrence in Hartford and New York from Akin … Clifford Chance hired project development and financing partner Victoria Salem in Houston from Cheniere Energy … Barnes & Thornburg brought on sports, media and entertainment partner Timothy Browne in Nashville from Polsinelli and commercial litigation partner Elizabeth Fenton in Wilmington from Ballard Spahr … Adam Bloom joined Cooley's M&A practice as a partner in Palo Alto from Wilson Sonsini … King & Spalding hired former U.S. House candidate Will Rollins as a business litigation partner in Los Angeles … Simpson Thacher added restructuring and special situations partner Daniel Margulies in Hong Kong from Dechert.

Vice President JD Vance will lead a U.S. delegation to attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo … President Trump said the U.S. is close to a nuclear deal with Iran … Walmart warned of higher prices as Trump tariffs start to bite … Dick's Sporting Goods will buy Foot Locker for $2.4 billion in another major footwear deal … Britain is seeking third countries to host deported migrants … A group that opposed OpenAI's restructuring raises concerns about the startup's new revamp plan … Israeli military strikes killed scores in Gaza as Trump visited the Middle East … And Portugal's far-right leader suffered a second collapse days before Sunday's general election. Plus, a new gravity study showed why the moon's two sides look so different.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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