Overview

• On May 27, the Supreme Court vacated the 8th Circuit’s split ruling that had allowed Ethan Marks’s lawsuit to proceed, remanding the case under the Barnes v. Felix precedent.
• Marks was 19 when Officer Benjamin Bauer fired a 40 mm less-lethal projectile at close range during a 2020 protest, leaving him legally blind in one eye.
• The Barnes v. Felix decision permits courts to evaluate police use of force by examining the broader context rather than only the immediate moment of injury.
• In its initial 8th Circuit decision, two judges ruled Marks posed no threat when struck by the projectile, deeming the force unreasonable; a third judge dissented, pointing to the chaotic protest environment.
• Marks’s attorney anticipates the lawsuit will proceed again; the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association expects a reconsideration to result in its dismissal.