United States v. Joseph B. Davis

Three Howard University students were tried and convicted by a jury of possession and possession with intent to distribute narcotics found in an apartment they shared.1 On this appeal, one of them challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. Unfortunately, the majority’s analysis ends where it should begin — with a recital of the evidence indicating that at least one (but not necessarily all) of the three occupants of the apartment was selling drugs.

Painting with a broad brush, the majority demonstrates conclusively that there is guilt in the air. But guilt by…