⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears Mixon versus the City of Galesburg, a civil case over a gun-related arrest. Mixon was shot in the leg, and other people picked him up in a car. Police followed that car. A gun later found along its route was matched to a shell casing from the shooting scene. A detective treated those connections as grounds to suspect that Mixon had possessed the gun. Mixon disputes that inference. He sued the detective and city, alleging an arrest without probable cause. The district court ruled for the defendants: it relied on the arrest warrant's presumption of validity and also found probable cause from the surrounding facts. Probable cause concerns a reasonable basis to believe someone committed an offense; it is not proof of guilt at a criminal trial. On appeal, Mixon will emphasize that no eyewitness, video, or forensic evidence directly linked him to possessing the gun. The defendants will argue that circumstantial evidence can be enough. Another key issue is the warrant: no transcript or written warrant application records what the prosecutor told the issuing judge. Listen for whether the warrant can carry a presumption of probable cause on that record, and whether the investigation independently supplied enough grounds for the arrest.

Garrett Mixon v. City of Galesburg (No. 26-1659) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued November 4, 2026.