Conner

Plaintiff-Appellee William H. Conner sues Steve Heiman and Russ Neil, two Nevada Gaming Control Board agents, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Conner claims that Heiman and Neil violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment by arresting him without probable cause to believe that he had committed a crime. Conner also alleges that Heiman and Neil conspired with Harrah’s Operating Company (“Harrah’s”) to violate his rights. On October 20, 2010, the district court denied Heiman’s and Neil’s motion for summary judgment based on the defense of qualified immunity. Heiman and Neil now appeal from that decision.

We hold that the district court erred when it reserved the issue of whether Heiman and Neil had qualified immunity for the jury even though the parties did not materially dispute what facts Heiman and Neil knew when they arrested Conner. We further hold that Heiman and Neil did not violate clearly established rights by arresting Conner. Accordingly, Heiman and Neil are entitled to qualified immunity, and we reverse the district court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

At summary judgment, the undisputed evidence showed the following. On July 19, 2008,…