Leslie Fisher v. Randall Jordan, 91 F.4th 419

Leslie and Steven Fisher co-owned a home and a detached garage in Michigan, suspected by police of being used for illegal marijuana production and distribution.
Acting on a tip and subsequent evidence from trash pulls, police obtained a warrant and discovered large amounts of marijuana, marijuana plants, and related paraphernalia in their garage, as well as additional contraband in their home and a nearby workshop.
Both Fishers possessed medical marijuana cards allowing limited quantities and plants but were found in possession of quantities far exceeding those limits.
Leslie was arrested, charged with marijuana-related offenses, but all charges were later dismissed by the state court.
Leslie sued the officers in federal court for false arrest and malicious prosecution, arguing her arrest lacked probable cause; the district court granted summary judgment for the officers, relying on probable cause.
On appeal, the Sixth Circuit affirmed, over a dissent, that probable cause existed to arrest Leslie.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether probable cause existed to arrest Leslie for possession with intent to distribute	Leslie claims no concrete nexus between her and contraband found in garage; only co-ownership and legal personal use established	Defendants argue collective ownership, Leslie’s access, use of marijuana grown on site, and evidence found support probable cause	Court held probable cause was satisfied; arrest valid
Whether summary judgment was appropriate	Disputes of material fact preclude summary judgment (e.g., Leslie’s claimed ignorance of garage contents/access)	Officers contend facts clearly established probable cause, and Leslie’s denials do not defeat it	Summary judgment for officers affirmed
Whether officers were entitled to qualified/governmental immunity	No immunity: arrest violated clearly established law on probable cause standard for co-owners	Immunity applies: probable cause existed, standard met	Officers entitled to immunity from federal and state claims
Dissent: Sufficiency of evidence for constructive possession by co-owners	No sufficient nexus or independent evidence tying Leslie to the grow operation	Mere co-ownership plus circumstantial evidence sufficed	Majority rejected dissent, maintaining low probable cause bar

Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (totality of circumstances standard for probable cause)
Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146 (probable cause governs lawfulness of warrantless arrest)
California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621 (arrest is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment)
Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (probable cause to arrest can be based on shared enterprise theory)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (summary judgment standard)
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (qualified immunity analysis may focus on constitutional violation first)