Exam 13: Intoxication Offenses

Which of the following is a correct legal definition of "intoxicated" according to the Texas Penal Code?

One Saturday night,Randy,a police officer,is working an extra job providing security at a country and western dance hall.Randy observes Buck exit the dance hall and begin walking across the parking lot to his automobile.Buck is singing loudly as he walks.Randy notes that Buck is staggering and keeps dropping his car keys.Randy approaches Buck and immediately notices that Buck appears to be intoxicated.At this point,Randy would be legally justified in arresting Buck for:

To commit the offense of public intoxication an individual must be intoxicated to the point of potentially endangering himself or others.Does the requirement of potentially endangering oneself or another grant a peace officer too much discretion in enforcing the statute? Explain your answer.

To obtain a conviction for DUI instead of DWI,the prosecution must establish that the accused's blood alcohol concentration was at least 0.15.

Late one Saturday night,Carol exists a club after an evening of drinking and dancing.She is observed by Phillip,a police officer,who is sitting in his patrol vehicle across the street.Phillip notices that Carol is having difficulty walking and,in fact,falls down once.When Carol reaches her car,she enters the vehicle,starts the engine,and begins to drive very slowly through the parking lot,running over some bushes in the process.Phillip notices that she has not turned on the vehicle's headlamps.Suspecting that Carol is intoxicated,Phillip drive his police car on to the parking lot,activates his lights and siren,and signals Carol to stop.Carol stops the vehicle before exiting the parking lot.Phillip approaches her car and notices that Carol's eyes are bloodshot and her speech is slurred.She also has difficulty recalling her address and telephone number when asked.She is arrested and taken to the police station where she registers a 0.07 BAC on a breath test.Which of the following statements is accurate about this situation?

One of the two legal standards for being intoxicated under Texas law is having a minimum BAC of 0.8 or greater.

The Texas Legislature has explicitly eliminated the necessity of proving a culpable mental state in cases involving public intoxication.

One Saturday night,Adam,a police officer,observes Roy,a 19-year-old,riding a mule down Main Street.When Adam moves closer to investigate the odd sight,he notices that Roy is highly intoxicated.The most serious offense Roy is committing is:

The crime of intoxication assault punishes conduct that would not otherwise be criminal except for the fact that the offender was intoxicated.

The intoxication assault statute applies to individuals who cause any form of bodily injury to another as a result of their negligent operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Sarah is driving her car in an intoxicated condition.She passes out at the wheel and the car runs into Larry's front yard.Larry is taking a nap in a hammock.He awakes suddenly as he hears the car coming through the bushes.The car strikes a large pine tree in the yard.The pine tree falls,landing on Larry and breaking his leg.What is the most serious offense Sarah has committed?

A peace officer may lawfully release an intoxicated person into the care of a responsible adult.

The legal definition of "intoxicated" in the public intoxication statute is the same definition used in the driving while intoxicated statute.

A key element of the offense of driving while intoxicated is that the accused was ________ a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated.

A state trooper observes Lance riding his bicycle on the Interstate Highway.As the trooper's vehicle approaches the biker,Lance crashes his bicycle into the side of the patrol vehicle.Lance falls to the ground.The trooper immediately observes that Lance is severely intoxicated.The trooper would be legally justified in arresting Lance and charging him with:

The offense of driving while intoxicated can only be committed when operating a motor vehicle in a ________ place.

Gene is stopped by a state trooper on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.Gene is considered to be legally intoxicated if he:

Bert and Maria have been to a New Year's Eve party.Both have had too much to drink.While driving home,the bleary-eyed Bert turns the wrong way down a one-way street and immediately crashes head-on into another vehicle.Ramon,the driver of the other vehicle,suffers minor bruises because his airbag deploys but Maria,who is not wearing her seatbelt,is thrown against the dashboard.She suffers a skull fracture and several other serious injuries to her face and torso.A blood test reveals that Bert's BAC is 0.13.Bert has committed: