| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | Garner was burgling, and was caught, unarmed in the back yard while making a getaway. He tried to climb a fence, and an officer shot him, fatally, in the back of the head. |
| Posture: | Not clear; it's heavily edited. Looks as though the court of appeals held for the plaintiff, but not clear what happened at trial. |
| Issue: | Is it constitutional to use deadly force to prevent the escape of an unarmed suspected felon? |
| Holding: | As a rule, no. |
| Rule: | Deadly force is the most intensive sort of seizure, and it's not better that suspects die than that they get away. |
| Reasoning: | Need to balance judicial determination of guilt and punishment, as well as interests of society and the individual in staying alive, with the government's interest in efficient law enforcement. |
| Dicta: | |