When is the defense of voluntary intoxication available?
- if the crime requires purpose, intent, or knowledge and intoxication prevented the defendant from formulating the purpose/ obtaining knowledge
- voluntary intoxication is a good defense for specific intent crimes, but not general intent, malice, or strict liability crimes
What is the M’Naghten insanity defense?
D will be found not guilty if (1) was so deranged he did not understand the nature and quality of his actions; OR (2) D understood the nature and quality of his actions but was so deranged he didn’t know they were wrong
mistake defense:
- can be used as a defense to show defendant lacked required mental state for the crime
- If mistake is used as a defense in a specific intent crime, the mistake does not need to be reasonable
- if mistake is used as a defense in a general intent crime it must have been a reasonable mistake
Is mistake of law a defense?
- Never a defense
- defendant commits an illegal act and believes it is legal
Is factual impossibility a defense?
-No; factual impossibility is when the defendant were able to complete the acts as he intended to and all the circumstances were as the defendant believed, the defendant would have committed a crime
(EX: D thinks he is buying cocaine from a distributer with the intent to sell the cocaine, but it is really just baking powder; defendant will be guilty of selling cocaine even though it is “factually impossible”)
