Estep v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
1997
Citation profile
20 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 20 later decisions — most recently September 2013
20 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Commonwealth v. Benham · Commonwealth v. Sawhill · Walden v. Commonwealth · Simpson v. Commonwealth · Hamilton v. Commonwealth
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[Kentucky Statute] 507.020(l)(b) permits a conviction for wanton murder for the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.... [C]onduct such as Es-tep’s has been held to constitute wanton murder under such a statutory standard. Walden v. Commonwealth, Ky., 805 S.W.2d 102 (1991), held that a wanton murder conviction was proper because the conduct of the defendant amounted to more than a typical automobile accident by virtue of the extreme rate of speed and level of intoxication.... [T]his Court concluded that ... the extreme nature of the intoxication was sufficient evidence from which a jury could infer wantonness so extreme as to manifest extreme indifference to human life. Id. The evidence in this case demonstrated that Estep was driving her truck at a high rate of speed in an improper manner under the influence of drugs. Blood tests revealed the existence of five different types of drugs in Estep’s body: Xanax, Elavil, Soma, Valium and Hydrocodone. [[Image here]] Eyewitnesses testified that Estep was seen passing at a rate of speed greater than 50 miles per hour in a no-passing zone near a curve in the road. The testimony indicated that after she completed passing one automobile, she failed to return to the proper lane and collided with a car on the wrong side of the road. One of the passengers in the other vehicle testified that ... Estep was slumped over in her seat and that she raised her head only seconds before the”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Jeffries v. State“Depending on the situation, drunk driving may be ... a circumstance [manifesting indifference to human life].”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“questions of credibility and weight of the evidence are jury matters.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.