Effect of intoxication upon liability · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 15.25 Effect of intoxication upon liability.
Intoxication is not, as such, a defense to a criminal charge; but in any prosecution for an offense, evidence of intoxication of the defendant may be offered by the defendant whenever it is relevant to negative an element of the crime charged.
Intoxication is not, by itself, a defense. ★ But the defendant may offer evidence of intoxication whenever it is relevant to disprove an element of the crime charged, for example the intent a crime requires.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.