United States v. Damen Davis

MEMORANDUM

Davis contests the revocation of his supervised release based on his failure to participate in and successfully complete a residential substance abuse program. Davis was terminated from the New Frontiers substance abuse treatment program on his first day there after fighting with his roommate. Davis argues the district court applied the incorrect standard of self defense when evaluating Davis’s testimony about the fight.

The district court incorrectly stated the standard for self defense. Had Davis been charged with committing a new crime— assault — as the basis for revoking his supervised release, the district court’s misstatement would have been error. But Davis was not charged with a new crime. Rather, the government sought to revoke Davis’s supervised release because of his failure to complete a residential drug treatment program. The real question before the court was thus not whether Davis acted in self defense; instead, the district court needed to decide whether Davis’s expulsion from New Frontiers constituted a violation of a condition of his supervised release and whether the seriousness of that violation justified revoking his release. See United States v.…