562.076. Intoxicated or drugged condition.
Being drunk or high usually doesn’t excuse criminal behavior.
You’re still responsible for a crime even if you were drunk or high—unless it happened against your will and left you unable to understand what you were doing.
1. A person is still criminally responsible for what they do while intoxicated or drugged, unless:
- The condition was not their choice (involuntary), and
- It made them unable to understand what they were doing or that it was wrong.
2. The defendant must raise the issue of being intoxicated or drugged as part of their defense.
3. If someone was voluntarily drunk or high, that fact can be brought up in court when relevant to their actions—but it cannot be used to argue that they lacked the mental state required for the crime. Juries must be told this if that kind of evidence is shown during trial.
Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Missouri criminal defense lawyer.
