James Z. Davis (December 16, 1943 – February 27, 2016) was an American judge on the Utah Court of Appeals.
James "Jim" Z. Davis was born in 1943 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended college at the University of Utah, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1968. After graduation he served in the Army military intelligence for two years, ending in 1970. Davis toured as a Combat Intelligence Analyst in Vietnam. Judge Davis retired in November 2015.
From 1971 to 1977 Davis was in private practice, practicing in Ogden, Utah. In 1973 he became the Deputy Weber County Attorney and Weber County Police Legal Adviser. In 1977 he joined the Ogden law firm Thatcher, Glasmann, and Davis where he practiced until 1982. Davis then joined the Salt Lake City based firm of Ray, Quinney and Nebeker where he worked as a shareholder and director until his appointment to the bench. As a lawyer, Davis concentrated his practice in Commercial Real Estate, Bankruptcy and Banking.
Davis was elected President of the Utah State Bar in 1991. Judge Davis was appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals in 1993 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt. He served a two-year term as presiding judge in January 1999 and is currently serving as presiding judge.
Judge Davis was certified by the Utah Judicial Council to stand for retention in 2008 and was successfully retained in office by the Utah voters for the third time.
State of Utah v Duhaime 2011 UT App 209
On January 14, 2009, a highway patrolman out looking for drug activity observed a Lincoln Town Car with Texas license plates, driven by Duhaime, traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 in Summit County. The patrolman ran a check on the car's license plate number and discovered that it was a rental car. The patrolman claimed that the rear license plate light was not working. He also observed the driver make what the patrolman claimed to be an illegal lane change. At approximately 11:06 p.m., on the pretext of the foregoing violations, the patrolman pulled the car over. The encounter with Duhaime and his wife (Wife) was recorded by a camera in the patrolman's vehicle.
The patrolman began to question Duhaime about travel plans and concluded that the driver's answers were inconsistent and nervously spoken. After returning to his car the patrolman called another patrolman and ordered him to bring a dog to sniff the car for drugs. Duhaime and his wife were retained at the sight until the dog came. When the dog arrived, it alerted on the trunk of the car, where the officers subsequently found seventy-six one-pound vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana. Duhaime was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony.
Duhaime filed a motion to suppress the marijuana evidence, arguing that the patrolman lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him for an equipment or traffic violation and that the detention was longer than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop. The trial court found that the patrolman's testimony regarding the license plate light was credible, that no contrary testimony was presented, and that it was unclear from the video whether the light was functioning.
On appeal, Judge Davis authored the opinion of the court and concluded:
"The trial court did not err in concluding that the stop in this case was justified at its inception, and the patrolman's testimony about the stop was not so implausible as to justify our reassessing his credibility on appeal. However, the totality of the circumstances did not support a reasonable suspicion that Duhaime was transporting drugs, and Duhaime was illegally seized when he was detained to await the drug detection dog. We therefore reverse the trial court's denial of Duhaime's motion to
suppress, and we remand the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion."
State of Utah v Watkins 2011 UT App 96
In September 2008, Watkins accepted a job with his niece's husband (Father). Watkins temporarily moved in with his niece (Stepmother) and Father until he could afford to get a place of his own. Three of the Father and Stepmother's children lived with them during the time Watkins stayed at their home. Additionally, the Father's ten-year-old child from a previous relationship (Child) visited the Father and Stepmother "regularly" while Watkins was living with them.
Three years prior, Watkins had lost his son and stepdaughter in a tragic accident. Following the accident, his marriage suffered and he and his wife were eventually divorced. On approximately October 15, 2008, Watkins's ex-wife remarried. That same day, the Child stayed at the Father's home overnight. Upset about his ex-wife's remarriage, Watkins drank a significant amount of alcohol while the other three children were all sleeping in her room. After the Child had fallen asleep she woke up to find Watkins in bed with her kissing her on the side of her head. She asked him to stop and to leave, but then he began "pinching" or "rubbing" her buttocks with his hand. Child also testified at trial and in her interview that he "spanker her butt." Watkins finally left after Child told him to leave a second time, but he then returned and gave her a $100 bill, telling her not to tell anyone about the money.
Following the incident the Child no longer wished to visit the Father's home while Watkins was there and after a couple weeks the Stepmother asked what was wrong. The Child disclosed the details of the incident to her mother, Stepmother, and Father. The incident was reported and Watkins was arrested.
Watkins was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first degree felony. At trial, after the State rested its case, Watkins moved to dismiss, arguing that the State had failed to prove that he was in a position of special trust with respect to the child that he had acted with the "intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person." The trial court denied the motion to dismiss. The jury convicted Watkins and he was sentenced to ten years to life in prison.
On appeal, Judge Davis authored the opinion of the court and concluded: