Also known as: under the influence of alcohol · under the influence of drugs · DUI · driving under the influence · intoxicated
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A state of impairment in which a person is deprived of clearness of mind and self-control because of alcohol, narcotics, or other drugs. The condition affects capacity to consent, to contract, or to form the mental state required for certain offenses.
Uriah Urban stabbed his roommate during a heated argument after drinking heavily. At trial he presented evidence that intoxication triggered an extreme emotional disturbance that left him unable to control his actions. The jury found the disturbance had a reasonable explanation from his viewpoint and reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter.
Ursula Upton signed a promissory note while heavily intoxicated at a bar. When the lender sued for repayment she defended on the ground that she lacked capacity. The court held the note unenforceable because her intoxication prevented manifestation of mutual assent.
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Ulysses Ulrich and his partner exchanged vows at a late-night ceremony after consuming multiple shots of liquor. Months later Ulrich sought annulment, proving he had been too impaired to understand the nature of the ceremony. The court annulled the marriage because capacity is measured at the moment of the ceremony.
An officer stopped Urban Utley on the street after observing him weaving and smelling of alcohol. The brief detention revealed an open container and led to an arrest for public intoxication. The stop was upheld because the officer had reasonable suspicion based on observable signs of intoxication.
Police stopped Usman Uddin for erratic driving and detected the odor of alcohol. After arresting him they searched the passenger compartment and found an open bottle. The search was sustained as incident to the DUI arrest under the automobile exception.
Ugo Uberti sued to rescind a contract he signed while intoxicated. The defendant moved to have the court decide the capacity question. The court denied the motion and sent the factual dispute to the jury because the Seventh Amendment requires jury resolution of contested facts in common-law actions.
No. The Model Penal Code requires an extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse judged from the actor's situation as he believed it to be. The disturbance need not be caused by alcohol or drugs.
Intoxication negates capacity only when it prevents the party from understanding the nature and consequences of the transaction. Mere impairment short of that standard does not void the contract.
Yes. Capacity to marry is measured at the time of the ceremony. Proof that a party was too intoxicated to understand the nature of the act supports annulment.
No. The prosecution must show the victim was so impaired that she lacked capacity to consent. Mere consumption of alcohol or drugs is not enough.
…because it bears upon the inquiry whether the confession was voluntarily made or was extorted by threats or violence or made under the influence of fear. But confinement or imprisonment is not in itself sufficient to justify the exclusion of a confession, if it appears to have been voluntary, and was not obtained by putting the…