Posted: May 19th, 2017

When the police came to break up the illegal beach party, Vincent was very drunk. He ended up punching one of the officers. Now he’s charged with both simple assault and with “assaulting a police officer with intent to impede the officer in the discharge of his duties.” In general:

When the police came to break up the illegal beach party, Vincent was very drunk. He ended up punching one of the officers. Now he’s charged with both simple assault and with “assaulting a police officer with intent to impede the officer in the discharge of his duties.” In general: a. Vincent’s intoxication could not be a basis for a defense to either of these charges. b. If Vincent can prove he was too drunk to form a specific intent, his intoxication might succeed as a defense to the first charge but not the charge of “assault with intent to impede.” c. If Vincent can prove he was too drunk to form a specific intent, his intoxication might succeed as a defense to the charge of “assault with intent to impede” but not to the simple assault charge. d. If Vincent can prove he was too drunk to form a specific intent, his intoxication might well succeed as a defense to both of the charges.