Brown v. State

filed a concurring and dissenting opinion.

I agree that involuntary intoxication is not a defense to driving while intoxicated (DWI) under the facts of this case. But to hold that it can never be a defense to DWI goes too far. I cannot join the majority in that sweeping statement; I therefore must respectfully dissent.

Courts have long struggled with the conflict between the due process requirement of criminalizing only conduct that involves both a culpable mental state and a criminal act (mens rea and actus reus) and the apparent intent of the legislature to dispense with the requirement of a…