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Ala. Code § 13A-3-2

Intoxication.

Known as the Alabama Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 13–13 (653 sections).

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Williams v. Allen (2010)

Most recently applied in LEAL (July 2012)

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §505.)

How often courts cite this section

199320002010201210
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) Intoxication is not a defense to a criminal charge, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section. However, intoxication, whether voluntary or involuntary, is admissible in evidence whenever it is relevant to negate an element of the offense charged.

(b) When recklessness establishes an element of an offense and the actor is unaware of a risk because of voluntary intoxication, his unawareness is immaterial in a prosecution for that offense.

(c) Involuntary intoxication is a defense to prosecution if as a result the actor lacks capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law.

(d) Intoxication in itself does not constitute mental disease or defect within the meaning of Section 13A-3-1.

(e) In this section:

(1) “Intoxication” includes a disturbance of mental or physical capacities resulting from the introduction of any substance into the body.

(2) “Voluntary intoxication” means intoxication caused by substances that the actor knowingly introduced into his body, the tendency of which to cause intoxication he knows or ought to know, unless he introduces them under circumstances that would afford a defense to a charge of crime.

Official source: Alabama Legislature (ALISON). Reproduced from public-domain Alabama statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.