Graves v. Mahoning County, No. 15-3175 (6th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseThe plaintiffs, Ohio “exotic dancers” who have been arrested on charges ranging from prostitution to drug distribution to assault to witness intimidation, alleged that court clerks in Mahoning County issued arrest warrants that violate the Warrant Clause. To satisfy this clause, a neutral and detached magistrate must independently determine that probable cause exists after weighing the evidence supplied by the police. They claim that the sole “evidence” that the clerks received in their cases “consist[ed] only of the officer[s’] [bare] conclusion[s] that the accused committed the offense[s].” They also argued that clerks lack the constitutional power to issue warrants. The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of their 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit. While they were correct in asserting that the warrants lacked probable cause, the plaintiffs never alleged that the officers arrested them without probable cause—the key allegation needed to show an unconstitutional arrest under the Fourth Amendment.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.