The Supreme Court has reinstated the lawsuit filed by a former major league baseball player's son who was shot on the porch of his family home by a Houston-area police officer.

The justices on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider the case of Robert Tolan, son of former major leaguer Bobby Tolan. The son was shot in the chest after police mistakenly believed he was armed and had stolen a vehicle.

A Houston-area jury acquitted Bellaire police Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton of criminal charges in the shooting, which happened on New Year's Eve in 2008. A federal appeals court dismissed Tolan's civil lawsuit claiming that Cotton used excessive force.

The high court said the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acted too hastily.