United States v. David Earl Fleming

HARRISON L. WINTER, Chief Judge:

This case requires us to decide whether a non-purposeful vehicular homicide can ever amount to murder. We conclude that it can.

I

Defendant David Earl Fleming was convicted of second-degree murder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § llll, 1 in the death of Margaret Jacobsen Haley. Mrs. Haley was the driver of an automobile with which an automobile operated by the defendant collided when defendant lost control while traveling at a high rate of speed.

Fleming’s car was observed at about 3:00 p.m. on June 15, 1983, traveling southbound on the George Washington Memorial…