The document discusses intoxication as a potential legal defense. It summarizes that intoxication can impair judgment and cause crimes that would not be committed sober. Intoxication can be a defense to negate criminal intent, but only for crimes requiring specific intent. However, voluntary intoxication to obtain "Dutch courage" to commit a crime is not a valid defense. The document outlines the differences between involuntary and voluntary intoxication as legal defenses and examines relevant case law on intoxication and criminal intent.
The document discusses intoxication as a potential legal defense. It summarizes that intoxication can impair judgment and cause crimes that would not be committed sober. Intoxication can be a defense to negate criminal intent, but only for crimes requiring specific intent. However, voluntary intoxication to obtain "Dutch courage" to commit a crime is not a valid defense. The document outlines the differences between involuntary and voluntary intoxication as legal defenses and examines relevant case law on intoxication and criminal intent.
The document discusses intoxication as a potential legal defense. It summarizes that intoxication can impair judgment and cause crimes that would not be committed sober. Intoxication can be a defense to negate criminal intent, but only for crimes requiring specific intent. However, voluntary intoxication to obtain "Dutch courage" to commit a crime is not a valid defense. The document outlines the differences between involuntary and voluntary intoxication as legal defenses and examines relevant case law on intoxication and criminal intent.
perception and self control. It can cause persons to commit crimes which they would never have considered committing while sober. INTRODUCTION
Intoxication, which denotes to the condition that
exists when person consumes alcohol or other drugs to the extent that his or her mental or physical abilities are significantly affected, has been recognized as defence in criminal law under some circumstances. It is not recognized as defence where the intoxication is an element of crime like driving whilst intoxicated. The defence is permitted in some instances in which there is evidence that intoxication created a state of mind similar to that of an insane person and thus the defendant could not form the requite intent required for that crime Intoxication as Legal Defence
Intoxication can be divided as -
Involuntary Intoxication and Voluntary Intoxication Involuntary Intoxication
Involuntary Intoxication, which occurs when
someone slips drug into the food or drink, a seldom- used defence, is appropriate when defendant has acted under intoxication that was compelled or coerced by another or when a defendant become intoxicated as the result of deception, mistake, or ignorance. A defendant can become intoxicated by voluntarily taking drink or drugs. Evidence of intoxication negativing mens rea is a defence only to crimes requiring specific intent. But note that: Cases
A distinction has to be drawn between being drunk and
being intoxicated. A drunken man may commit acts whilst under the influence of drink or drugs that he would never commit whilst sober, but he will not be able to raise the defence of intoxication if he is nevertheless, still capable of forming the necessary mens rea for the crime with which he is charged. It was stressed in R v Sheehan and Moore [1975] 1 WLR 739, that "a drunken intent is nevertheless an intent". An intoxicated defendant is one who is shown to have been incapable of forming the necessary mens rea due to the effect of drink or drugs. In R v Stubbs (1989) 88 Cr App R 53, it was stated that the intoxication needed to be "very extreme". "DUTCH COURAGE" INTOXICATION
Where a person deliberately gets himself intoxicated
to give himself "Dutch Courage" to commit a crime, his intoxication will not be a defence even to crimes that can only be committed with a specific intention. He is to be "blamed" to the same extent as the person who intentionally commits a crime - Attorney- General for N. Ireland v Gallagher [1963] AC 349 Attorney-General for N. Ireland v Gallagher [1963] AC 349
The defendant decided to kill his wife. He bought a knife
and a bottle of whisky which he drank to give himself "Dutch Courage". Then he killed her with the knife. He claimed that he was so drunk that he did not know what he was doing, or possibly even that the drink had brought on a latent psychopathic state so that he was insane at the time of the killing. The House of Lords held that intoxication could not be a defence. Nepalese Law