Drunkenness - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition drunkenness

Definition :

Drunkenness, intoxication with strong liquor; habit-ual inebriety. A contract made by a person when so drunk as to be unable to understand what he is doing is voidable if the person with whom the contract was made was aware of the fact, but it is not void, and may be ratified when he becomes sober, Matthews v. Baxter, (1873) LR 8 Ex 132. Mere drunknness was punishable by statutes 4 Jac. 1, c. 5, and 21 Jac. 1, c. 7, ss. 1, 3, by a fine of five shillings and confinement in the stocks in default of distress. Under the Licensing Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 94), which repeals various previous enactments, drunkenness in a public place or licensed house is punishable by fine (s. 12). Disorderly drunkenness is punishable by fine or imprisonment, and refusal by drunken persons to quit licensed premises is punishable by fine. [(English) Licensing Consolidation Act, 1910, s. 80]

The 1st s. of the (English) Licensing Act, 1902 (2 Edw. 7, c. 28), enacts that--

If a person is found drunk in any highway or other public place [which by s. 8 includes both for the purposes of that Act and of s. 12 of the Act of 1872, 'any place to which the public have access, whether on payment or otherwise' ] . . . or on any licensed premises, and appears to be incapable of taking care of himself, he may be apprehended and dealt with according to law.

The 3rd s. of the same Act empowers a Court on conviction of a drunkard to order him to enter into a recognizance, with or without sureties, to be of good behaviour, and the 4th s. enacts that--

Where a licensed person is charged with permitting drunkenness on his premises, and it is proved that any person was drunk on his premises, it shall lie on the licensed persons to prove that he and the person employed by him took all reasonable steps for preventing drunkenness on the premises; and see DRIVER.

By the law of England drunkenness is no excuse for a crime. 'A drunkard,' says Sir Edward Coke (1 Inst. 247), 'who is voluntarius d'mon, has no privilege thereby; but what hurt or ill so ever he doth, his drunkenness doth aggravate it; nam crimen ebrietas et incendit et detegit.' Nevertheless, 'although drunkenness is no excuse for any crime whatever, yet it is often of very great importance where it is a question of intention. A person may be so drunk as to be utterly unable to form any intention at all, and yet he may by guilty of very great violence.'--Per Patterson, J., in R. v. Cruse, (1838) 8 C&P 541. Thus if a man is so drunk that he is incapable of knowing that what he is doing is dangerous or likely to inflict serious injury he will not be guilty of murder, R. v. Meade (1909) 1 KB 895; but see R. v. Beard, 1920 AC 479.

Habitual Drunkards.--The confinement of habitual drunkards is regulated by the (English) Habitual Drunkards Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 19), as amended by the Inebriates Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. C. 19), which made the Act of 1879 perpetual, and the (English) Inebriates Act, 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 60). The Act of 1879 defines an habitual drunkard as a 'person who, not being amenable to any jurisdiction in lunacy, is, notwithstanding, by reason of habitual intemperate drinking of intoxicating liquor, at times dangerous to himself or herself, or to others, or incapable of managing himself or herself, and his or her affairs,' and this definition applies under the Act of 1898, with which it is construed as one. But while the Act of 1879 applied only to persons voluntarily submitting themselves thereto in the first instance, the Act of 1898 is compulsory in certain cases, authorizing the Court to order the detention in an inebriate reformatory of an habitual drunkard convicted on indictment of an offence committed under the influence of drink, and punishable with imprisonment or penal servitude; and the Act also enacts that:

Any person who commits any of the offences mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act [i.e., being found drunk in a public place or committing other offences under s. 12 of the (English) Licensing Act, 1872, or otherwise similarly punishable], and who within the twelve months preceding the date of the commission of the offence has been convicted summarily at least three times of any offences so mentioned, and who is a habitual drunkard, shall be liable upon conviction on indictment, or if he consents to be dealt with summarily on summary conviction, to be detained for a term not exceeding three years in any certified inebriate reformatory the managers of which are willing to receive him.

The expenses of a prosecution are by an (English) Act of 1899 payable out of the local rates; but an habitual drunkard cannot be placed on a 'black list' (see below) without his consent [Donovan's case, (1903) 1 KB 895; and see R. v. Briggs, (1909) 1 KB 381, and HABITUAL DRUNKARD].

Black List.--The 'black list' above spoken of is the popular term for the list which a licensed person would, probably for his own purposes, frame on receiving notice of conviction of an habitual drunkard, together with a statement of his name, address, and occupation, and description of his personal appearance, in order to refrain from supplying him with intoxicating liquor in pursuance of s. 9 of the Act of 1902 and the elaborate Home Office Regulations issued in aid of that enactment. See BALCK LIST.

'Certified inebriate reformatories' may be certified as such by the Secretary of State if satisfied of their fitness, on the application of the council of any county or borough; or of any persons desirous of establishing an inebriate reformatory; and 'State inebriate reformatories' may also be established by the Secretary of State and maintained out of moneys provided by Parliament. 'Retreats' may also be licensed by borough and county councils, which councils are also empowered to contribute to their maintenance. In such retreats habitual drunkards, voluntarily submitting themselves, may be detained compulsorily for not more than two years. The drunkard, if he escapes from the retreat, may be apprehended and sent back by order of a justice of the peace.

See also (English) Licensing (Consolidation) Act, 1910, s. 80; Refreshment Houses Act, 1860, s. 41; (English) Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, s. 287; (English) Firearms Act, 1920, s. 2; Children and Young Persons Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 12), ss. 5, 6 (children in bars of licensed premises), repealed (English) 1932 Act. By s. 15 of the (English) Road Traffic Act, 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5, c. 43), any person driving or attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle in a road or other public place while under the influence of drink or drugs is liable to fine, imprisonment, and disqualification for 12 months or more for holding or obtaining a license.