Can intoxication be used as a defense to a crime?
A.Voluntary intoxication cannot be used as a defense to crime in Pennsylvania. 18 Pa. C.S. 308 provides as such, and was amended in 2007 to remove a previous stipulation which would have allowed first-degree murder charges to be reduced to second-degree, if evidence of intoxication could prove that premeditation could not have existed. The statute does not make mention of involuntary intoxication, and this topic has yet to be resolved through either litigation or precedent. Although intoxication cannot be used as a defense to a crime, there are many defenses which are available to you. An experienced criminal defense attorney can assist you in determining the best defense available to you.
