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Case Brief Assignment
Liberty University
CJUS 230 – C01
Professor DeBoer
November 6, 2023
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Case Brief Assignment
Caption
Lambert v. Commonwealth 70 Va. App. 54 (2019)
Facts
On March 1, 2015, Clinard Lambert, the defendant, was involved in an accident. The
defendant was driving westbound in his pickup truck when he crossed the centerline, entered the
eastbound lane, and crashed into the guardrail on the left side. The plaintiff, Donna Turner, was
driving eastbound with passenger Forrest Ramey in a Chevrolet Cavalier. The plaintiff was
unable to avoid a collision with the main point of impact on the passenger side of the car which
resulted in the plaintiff and her passenger suffering injuries. The passenger, Forrest Ramey, later
died because of blunt force injuries.
Procedural History
The defendant was indicted in the Circuit Court of Russell County. The Jury found
Lambert guilty. The defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals, which granted and considered
his assignments of error. An appellate court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
Issue
Was the evidence of drugs in the defendant's system sufficient to have had a purpose prior
to the accident to self-administer drugs which compromised his ability to drive safely and
therefore, led to the Death of Forrest Ramey?
Rule of Law
It must be shown that the defendant committed both crimes of driving while intoxicated
and aggravated involuntary manslaughter voluntarily.
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Holding
It was affirmed that the defendant had self-administered drugs compromising his ability
to drive safely.
Rationale
The evidence of drugs in the defendant's system was clear. The defendant was part of a
voluntary program where he agreed to ingest drugs. This was considered self-administered prior
to the defendant driving and the accident.
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References
Lambert v. Commonwealth, 70 Va. App. 54, 824 S.E.2d 18 (Va. Ct. App. 2019)
