United States v. Davis

A police officer observed Clifton Davis (defendant) repeatedly swerve off the road and strike several barrels during one swerve onto the shoulder. The officer pursued Davis, who sped up and began aggressively weaving through traffic in excess of the speed limit, nearly striking several other vehicles. A second police officer joined the pursuit and positioned his car in front of Davis’s car, ultimately forcing Davis to slow down and stop. When the officers approached Davis’s car, Davis was unresponsive, disoriented, and confused. Davis had glassy eyes and had to be physically carried out of the car for transport to a police station. At the station, Davis could not respond to simple requests for information for more than three hours before Davis could finally communicate normally. Davis was given a blood test that found an uncertain amount of marijuana but no alcohol or other drugs. Davis admitted using marijuana on prior occasions but denied using marijuana that day. No drugs or related paraphernalia were found in Davis’s car. Davis was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI). At trial, the government did not offer any evidence that the amount of marijuana in Davis’s blood affected Davis. After a bench trial, the district court considered whether the evidence was sufficient to convict Davis of DUI.