§ 29-122 — Criminal responsibility; intoxication; not a defense; exceptions

Nebraska § 29-122

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 29: Criminal Procedure

Text

A
person who is intoxicated is criminally responsible for his or her conduct.
Intoxication is not a defense to any criminal offense and shall not be taken
into consideration in determining the existence of a mental state that is
an element of the criminal offense unless the defendant proves, by clear and
convincing evidence, that he or she did not (1) know that it was an intoxicating
substance when he or she ingested, inhaled, injected, or absorbed the substance
causing the intoxication or (2) ingest, inhale, inject, or absorb the intoxicating
substance voluntarily.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2011, LB100, § 1. Annotations: The defendant's being "heavily intoxicated" did not preclude her from having the requisite intent to terrorize the victim where the defendant pointed to no evidence that, on the night in question, she did not know she was ingesting alcohol or that she did not voluntarily ingest alcohol. State v. Clark, 315 Neb. 736, 1 N.W.3d 487 (2024). In enacting this section, the Legislature redefined the mental state elements of all subjective criminal offenses in Nebraska to provide for an objective inquiry: whether the State proved circumstances surrounding the offense that would otherwise establish the requisite mental state "but for" the defendant's voluntary intoxication. State v. Esch, 315 Neb. 482, 997 N.W.2d 569 (2023). Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to any criminal offense and shall not be taken into consideration in determining the existence of a mental state that is an element of the criminal offense. State v. Cheloha, 25 Neb. App. 403, 907 N.W.2d 317 (2018).