United States v. Saunders

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 00-4629 CATHERINE H. SAUNDERS, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Chief District Judge. (CR-00-266) Submitted: March 30, 2001 Decided: April 18, 2001 Before WILLIAMS, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Alan H. Yamamoto, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney, Paul A. Embroski, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. SAUNDERS OPINION PER CURIAM: A magistrate judge convicted Catherine H. Saunders of driving while under the influence, reckless driving, refusal to submit to a blood test, and interference with agency functions. The district court denied Saunders’ objections and affirmed the magistrate judge’s determination on appeal. In the instant appeal, Saunders challenges only her convictions and sentence for driving under the influence and reckless driving, alleging insufficiency of evidence. Finding no error, we affirm. When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial verdict must be sustained if there is substantial evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942). The evidence at trial established that Saunders failed four field sobriety tests, had taken prescription pain and asthma medication that day, and had consumed a beer with lunch. Further, evidence established that Saunders was sensitive to medica- tion. Based on these facts and the testimony of three officers describ- ing Saunders’ abusive, bizarre, and disrespectful behavior, we find the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find that Saunders drove while under the influence or drugs or alcohol or a combination thereof. 32 C.F.R. § 234.17(c)(3)(i). We further find the evidence that Saunders operated her car at a high rate of speed and crossed the cen- ter lines sufficient to support a finding of guilt on the charge of reck- less driving. 32 C.F.R. § 234.17(a) (2001) (incorporating Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-852 (Michie 1998)). We therefore affirm Saunders’ convictions and sentence. We dis- pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED