No. 25-1242October Term 2025Before Arguments
Denise Hughes, as Administrator of the Estate of Edwin Dewayne Moss, Petitioner v. Monique N. Locure, Administratrix of the Estate of Darian K. Locure
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Case status
- Current stage
- Before Arguments
- Latest event
- Accepted by the Court
- Decision timing
- No window until argument is scheduled.
- What it's about
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Question presented
1. Whether on January 19, 2021—when Macon County, Alabama Deputy Sheriff Darian K. Locure struck and killed Plaintiff-Petitioner’s decedent, Edwin Dewayne Moss—it was clearly established that a law-enforcement officer can face legal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for a substantive due-process violation where that officer physically injures a private person through the “officer’s intentional misuse of his [or her] vehicle”—as reasoned in County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 854 n.13 (1998) (emphasis in original), and Browder v. City of Albuquerque, 787 F.3d 1076, 1082-83 (10th Cir. 2015) (Gorsuch, J., writing for the Tenth Circuit), and Dean for & on behalf of Harkness v. McKinney, 976 F.3d 407, 417-20 (4th Cir. 2020)? 2. And, if so, whether this means that the Eleventh Circuit’s contrary holding in Hughes v. Locure, 166 F.4th 121, 128-30 (11th Cir. 2026), granting qualified immunity on the ground that this same right was not clearly established—over two decades post-Lewis and approaching a decade post-Browder—conflicts with this Court’s precedent and creates a circuit split warranting resolution on certiorari review?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Supreme Court case awaiting argument
Timing
Expected by late June 2026, if argued this term
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 94 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Briefing
What it's about
The estate of Edwin Dewayne Moss is asking the Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision that gave qualified immunity (a rule that can block damages suits against officials) after Alabama Deputy Sheriff Darian K. Locure struck and killed Moss on Jan. 19, 2021. The petition says earlier cases had already made clear that an officer can face liability for intentionally misusing a vehicle and harming a private person.
Argument
No oral argument is scheduled. The petition says the Eleventh Circuit split from other courts by treating the law as too unclear to overcome qualified immunity.
Impact
If the Court takes the case, it could clarify when families can sue after a police vehicle incident and when officers can avoid damages claims through qualified immunity. That matters, for example, when a family says an officer used a vehicle deliberately and wants the case heard in federal court.
What is Hughes v. Locure about?
The petition asks whether earlier cases clearly allowed a civil rights suit when an officer intentionally misused a vehicle and caused death. It also asks whether the Eleventh Circuit wrongly gave qualified immunity.
Who could be affected if the Court takes Hughes v. Locure?
Families suing over deaths or injuries involving police vehicles could be affected, along with officers and local governments defending those cases. That matters when a family wants a federal jury to hear a claim after a deadly encounter.
What happens next in Hughes v. Locure?
The justices first decide whether to hear the case. If they do, the next public sign will be scheduling, including oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 17, 2026
- Method
- Methodology