By Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer Jeremy Rosenthal
(972) 369-0577
When Being Drunk is a Crime
The rule of thumb with intoxication in Texas is this: it’s perfectly legal until you’re dangerous. The threshold changes depending on what you’re doing.
For public intoxication (a fine-only offense) you’re guilty if you’re dangerous to yourself or others just being in public.
For driving while intoxicated it’s if you’re dangerous being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle which weighs a few tons and can go 100 mph. DWI offenses range from class b misdemeanors (up to 180 days county jail) to 2nd degree felonies for intoxicated manslaughter (2 to 20 years in prison).
When Being Drunk is a Defense to a Crime
Voluntary intoxication is specifically excluded as a defense to a crime in Texas under Tex.Pen.C. 8.04. Involuntary intoxication may be a defense – but it is extremely rare and difficult to prove.
This topic gets very legally complex very fast – so I’ll do my best to help it make sense.
Intoxication normally goes to undermine the “intent” requirement of most crimes. If a person is intoxicated, then, they might not have intended to commit whatever crime, right? The answer would depend on if the person intended to ingest something intoxicating or not — or if they ingested something via fraud or distress rendering the intoxication involuntary.
Adding another layer of confusion is this: not all crimes require intent anyways. So drunk or not if the person did the criminal act then they are guilty. Examples would could be statutory rape, selling alcohol to a minor or even speeding. The prosecution doesn’t have to prove what you intended in those cases – much less whether a person was in their right state of mind.
Probably the easiest way to summarize this is through a few examples:
- DWI Where drug was unknowingly put into someone’s drink:
- Not a defense;
- There is no “intent” requirement in drunk driving cases so even if it were “involuntary” intoxication it wouldn’t matter.
- Theft where person was impaired due to prescription drugs;
- Not a defense
- The intoxication would be considered “voluntary” even if the person didn’t fully understand the impact of the medication or the medication had an unpredictable outcome.
- The issue is whether the person “voluntarily” ingested the medication.
- Robbery where a person had a cup of water spiked with an unknown intoxicant;
- This would be a rare example of involuntary intoxication being a defense;
- The impairment was caused by fraud;
- The involuntary impairment negates the intent element required in robbery.
- This would be a rare example of involuntary intoxication being a defense;
The effect of intoxication in cases can be obvious in most instances and legally complex in others.
*Jeremy Rosenthal is certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is recognized as a Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters.