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Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985), is a civil case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that, under the Fourth Amendment, when a law enforcement officer is pursuing a fleeing suspect, the officer may not use deadly force to prevent escape unless "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant ...
- Facts of The Case
- Constitutional Issues
- The Arguments
- Majority Opinion
- Dissenting Opinion
- The Impact
On October 3, 1974, two police officers responded to a late night call. A woman had heard glass breaking in her neighbor’s house and believed a “prowler” to be inside. One of the officers went around the back of the house. Someone fled across the backyard, stopping by a 6-foot fence. In the darkness, the officer could see that it was a boy and reas...
Can a police officer use deadly force against a fleeing, unarmed suspect? Does a statute that authorizes the use of deadly force on an unarmed suspect violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?
Attorneys on behalf of the state and city argued that the Fourth Amendment oversees whether a person may be detained, but not how they may be apprehended. Violence will decrease if officers are able to do their jobs by any means necessary. Resort to deadly force is a “meaningful threat” to deter violence, and is in the interest of the city and stat...
In a 6-3 decision delivered by Justice Byron White, the court labeled the shooting a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment. This allowed the court to determine whether the act was “reasonable” when taking into account a “totality of the circumstances.” The court considered several factors. First, the court focused on whether Garner posed a threat to...
Justice O’Connor was joined by Justice Rehnquist and Justice Burger in her dissent. Justice O'Connor focused on the crime Garner was suspected of, noting that there is a strong public interest in preventing burglaries. Justice O'Connor wrote: O'Connor argued that the majority's ruling actively impeded officers from enforcing the law. According to O...
Tennessee v. Garner subjected the use of deadly force to Fourth Amendment analysis. Just as an officer must have probable cause to search someone, they must have probable cause to fire on a fleeing suspect. Probable cause is limited to whether an officer reasonably believes that the suspect is an immediate threat to the officer or the surrounding p...
- Elianna Spitzer
Despite knowing that Garner was unarmed, the police officer believed that he was justified in shooting him to prevent his escape. Garner's father brought a constitutional challenge to the Tennessee statute that authorized the use of deadly force in this situation.
Mar 25, 2020 · It was in Garner that the U.S. Supreme Court first applied the “reasonableness” standard to police use of deadly force, paving the way for the landmark decision of Graham v. Connor (490 U.S. 386 (1989)) four years later.
The Supreme Court ruled against the student’s claim that the arbitrary paddlings administered by school officials violated the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause or the Due Process Clause, for not giving students a hearing to challenge any evidence against them and tell their side of the story.
Jan 23, 2020 · Garner, led to a 1985 Supreme Court decision in the family's favor that established that police can't shoot fleeing suspects unless they pose immediate danger.
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985), is a civil case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that, under the Fourth Amendment, when a law enforc...
