These are my lecture notes on intoxication and its impact on an individuals criminal liability. Case law is used to make critical points on the law in these areas.
Reading:
Herring and another textbook on the issue of intoxication.
Further Reading:
J. Child, ‘Drink, Drugs and Law Reform: A Review of Law Commission Report No.314’ [2009]
Crim LR 488.
A. Simester, ‘Intoxication is never a defence’ [2009] Crim L R 3.
J. Tolmie, ‘Alcoholism and Criminal Liability’ (2001) 64 MLR 688.
R. Williams ‘Voluntary Intoxication – A Lost Cause?’ (2013) 126 Law Quarterly Review 264
To consider
Consider the following scenarios and decide (a) who you think is culpable? And (b) who deserves to be labelled a
criminal?
Adam is out with friends in Newry. He drinks six pints and eight shots during the course of the night. On the way
home he attempts to get cash from a cash-machine but is so drunk he has trouble entering the digits and as a result
his card is taken by the machine. Adam attempts to retrieve the card from the machine using a pen-knife to prise it
open. The machine is damaged whereupon the police arrived and arrest Adam. Adam argues that he was so drunk
he did not know what he was doing.
Betty is visiting her grandson’s house. She sees what she thinks is a mint. She pops it into her mouth. However, it is
an ecstasy tablet. Betty starts to hallucinate and thinks that her grandson is a giant snake. Betty takes a knife from
the kitchen and stabs her grandson killing him.
Connor has been out drinking all afternoon. On his way home he decides he to lift a traffic cone as he thinks it
would look cool in his front room. In his drunken state he does not consider that what he might be doing is theft.
On his way home Connor is intercepted by the police.
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