''DPP v Majewski''
UKHL 2is a leading English criminal law case, establishing that
voluntary intoxication such as by drugs or alcohol is no defence to crimes requiring only basic intent. The ''Intention in English law">mens rea
In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of ''mens rea'' and '' actus reus'' ("guilty act") before th ...
'' requirement is satisfied by the reckless behaviour of intoxicating oneself.
Facts
The defendant, Robert Stefan Majewski, committed a series of assaults while under the influence of alcohol and drugs (20 pills of Dexedrine and 8 pills of Nembutal). He attacked the landlord and several customers at a public house; subsequently he attacked the police officer who drove him to the police station following his arrest, and a police inspector at the station.
He was charged with four counts of
assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...
and three counts of assault on a constable in the execution of his duty.
He tried to rely on his intoxication as a "defence" to the charges.
Judgment
Dismissing his appeal, the highest criminal court held that he could not rely on intoxication, as it is no defence. It was however recognised that certain offences require a ''
mens rea
In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of ''mens rea'' and '' actus reus'' ("guilty act") before th ...
'' element termed
specific intent
In criminal law, intent is a subjective state of mind () that must accompany the acts of certain crimes to constitute a violation. A more formal, generally synonymous legal term is : intent or knowledge of wrongdoing.
Definitions
Intent is def ...
. The requisite ''mens rea'' can be disproved if the defendant can prove that he was so intoxicated as to be incapable of forming such an intent.
There is no definite authority or fixed rule on what constitutes a specific intent offence. It is established that murder is but manslaughter is not; there are also specific intent elements in wounding with intent. As a general rule, it can be said that, where recklessness will suffice as ''mens rea'', the crime is one of basic intent. An alternative model is that specific intent is when the ''mens rea'' goes beyond the ''
actus reus
In criminal law, ''actus reus'' (; : ''actus rei''), Latin for "guilty act", is one of the elements normally required to prove commission of a crime in common law jurisdictions, the other being ("guilty mind"). In the United States, it is some ...
'', i.e. the defendant contemplates consequences beyond their physical actions.
In the instant case, it was held that assault occasioning ABH is a crime of basic intent. Even when too intoxicated to form a specific intent, the Lords held that one can still form basic intent,
[ 977AC 443, at 469] and thus the defendant's appeal was dismissed.
Even where intoxication can disprove ''mens rea'', this is not the same as a defence (a justification or excuse for committing the offence); rather it is a denial that all the necessary elements to constitute an offence – namely ''actus reus'' and simultaneous ''mens rea'' – were present.
See also
*
English criminal law
English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, i ...
*
Intoxication in English law
Intoxication in English law is a circumstance which may alter the capacity of a defendant to form mens rea, where a charge is one of specific intent, or may entirely negate mens rea where the intoxication is involuntary. The fact that a defendant ...
* ''
R v Lipman
''R v Lipman'' 9701 QB 152 is an English criminal law precedent that self-induced (voluntary) intoxication, however extreme, is no defence to manslaughter, provided a loss of control is foreseen by becoming intoxicated. The defendant in volunt ...
'' – an earlier case upholding the principle that the intent to self-intoxicate can be sufficient to a charge of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, where the risk borne is one which ordinary people would not have taken.
References
External links
BAILII: Official transcript
{{DEFAULTSORT:Majewski
English criminal case law
House of Lords cases
1976 in United Kingdom case law