U.S. v. Davis

Ct. of Appeals lacked jurisdiction in govt. appeal of dismissal of drug charges, where instant appeal concerned Dist. Ct. order that directed govt. to provide defendant with nine categories of documents and data bearing on exercise of govt.’s law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion, where defendant claimed that instant prosecution was motivated by racial profiling and selective prosecution of criminal charges involving use of non-existent drug stash houses. Instant appeal came after Dist. Ct. had granted govt.’s request for dismissal of indictment without prejudice so that it could appeal underlying discovery order, and while govt. claimed that jurisdiction over appeal was proper under 18 USC section 3731, Ct. of Appeals found that it lacked jurisdiction over appeal since: (1) subject matters for appeals under section 3731 did not include Dist. Ct.’s discovery order; and (2) Dist. Ct.’s dismissal order was not final, where result of order would allow govt. to re-file case regardless of outcome of appeal.