In Tolan v. Cotton, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision that had granted summary judgment to a police officer in a case involving an alleged use of excessive force. The incident occurred when Robert Tolan and his cousin were confronted by Officer Jeffrey Cotton in their own driveway due to mistaken identity as car thieves; this confrontation resulted in Tolan being shot and seriously injured by Officer Cotton. In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that the lower court failed to consider evidence from the perspective of Tolan (the non-moving party) during its summary judgment determination - particularly regarding whether Officer Cotton's use of force was reasonable under Fourth Amendment standards given factual disputes about lighting conditions, verbal exchanges, and other circumstances surrounding the shooting event.

In the dissenting opinion for Tolan v. Cotton, it was argued that the majority had overstepped its role by reevaluating factual determinations made in lower courts. The dissenters believed that there were no significant discrepancies between both parties' accounts of events and thus, no reason to overturn the summary judgment granted by lower courts. They contended that even if all facts were viewed in a light most favorable to Tolan (the non-moving party), Officer Cotton's actions could still be seen as reasonable given his perception of an immediate threat at the time of incident. Therefore, they concluded he should be entitled to qualified immunity from prosecution under federal law.