Deck 13: Intoxication Offenses

Question 1

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:

A)driving while intoxicated (DWI).
B)riding an animal while intoxicated (RAWI).
C)driving under the influence (DUI).
D)public intoxication.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

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:

A)intoxication assault as to Maria.
B)intoxication assault as to Maria and Ramon.
C)intoxication assault as to Ramon but not Maria because her injuries were the result of her failure to wear her seatbelt.
D)none of the above because the collision was unavoidable and not related to Bert's intoxicated condition.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Under Texas law regarding intoxication offenses,a person is considered intoxicated if she lacks normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of which of the following into her body?

A)volatile chemical vapors
B)alcohol
C)marijuana
D)any of the above

Question 5

Late one night Jose is walking back to his apartment after drinking two beers at the local cantina.Because of recent burglaries in the area,a police officer stops Jose and asks about why he is out so late.The officer smells the odor of beer on Jose's breath.To lawfully arrest Jose for violating the public intoxication law,the officer would have to reasonably believe that Jose was intoxicated and:

A)acting in a disorderly manner.
B)a threat to the well-being of others.
C)unlikely to be able to care for himself in case of an emergency.
D)may endanger himself or another.

Question 6

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

A)being unable to walk and maintain normal balance due to the ingestion of any substance
B)not having normal physical coordination due to ingestion of alcohol or illicit drugs
C)having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more
D)lacking sufficient psychological and physiological control of the body to function in an ordinary manner

Question 7

Police officer Raymond arrests Vince for the offense of public intoxication.Which of the following actions may Raymond lawfully take regarding Vince's arrest?

A)take Vince to jail in the same manner as any other misdemeanor offender
B)release Vince to the care of a responsible adult
C)with Vince's consent,place him into a substance abuse treatment facility
D)Officer Raymond may lawfully take any of the above actions.

Question 8

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

A)cannot recite the alphabet backwards within one hour of consuming alcohol.
B)does not have normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction into his body of a controlled substance such as marijuana.
C)lacks ordinary control of his major body functions due to the ingestion of drugs.
D)cannot balance himself on one foot for a period of at least ten seconds.

Question 9

Jean,a deputy sheriff,discovers Sheila passed out in an alley on a cold winter night.Jane awakens Sheila and discovers she is somewhat confused and incoherent.Sheila admits that earlier in the evening she was drinking wine.An empty wine bottle is on the ground beside her.In this circumstance,Jean may lawfully:

A)do nothing with Sheila because she is awake.
B)arrest Sheila for littering (the wine bottle)in order to have a legal basis to get her out of the cold.
C)with Sheila's consent,transport her to a substance abuse treatment facility.
D)issue Sheila a citation for public intoxication and release her on her signed promise to appear in court.

Question 10

One evening,Kevin,a campus police officer,observes Jack,a 26-year-old graduate student,walking across campus.Jack appears to be having trouble maintaining his balance and sense of direction.Kevin approaches Jack and can immediately see that Jack is intoxicated.Kevin asks Jack where he is going and Jack responds that he is walking to his off-campus apartment where he resides with his wife.Which of the following actions may Kevin lawfully take in this situation?

A)arrest Jack and transport him to the local emergency room to draw a blood sample
B)transport Jack to his apartment and release Jack into the care of his wife
C)arrest Jack for disorderly conduct and transport him to jail
D)issue Jack a written warning and order him to report to the graduate dean's office on Monday morning

Question 11

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:

A)attempted driving while intoxicated (DWI)because he is about to get into his car.
B)being drunk and disorderly.
C)public intoxication because Buck is intoxicated in a public place and may endanger himself or another.
D)public indecency as being drunk in public is considered a form of indecent exposure.

Question 12

Johnny is driving his pick-up truck home at midnight after an evening at a local club.The streets are slick due to freezing rain.As Johnny approaches the intersection of Main and First Street,he observes he has a green light.However,at that moment,Jason,who is riding a motorcycle on the cross-street,is unable to stop at his red signal.Due to the slippery conditions,the motorcycle slides into the intersection.Johnny immediately applies the truck's brakes but is unable to stop in time and strikes the motorcycle.Jason is subsequently transported to the hospital but dies two days later due to the injuries he sustained in the collision.Investigation reveals that Johnny had a 0.09 BAC and Jason a 0.05 BAC at the time of the incident.Which of the following is an accurate statement about this situation?

A)Johnny has committed intoxication manslaughter because his BAC was over the legal limit when his truck hit Jason.
B)Johnny has committed intoxication manslaughter because Jason would not have been killed if Johnny had been sober.
C)Johnny has committed intoxication assault because Jason survived the initial collision and his death might have been the result of some other cause.
D)Johnny has not committed intoxication manslaughter because no causal relationship existed between his state of intoxication and Jason's death.

Question 13

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)intoxication assault
B)driving while intoxicated
C)public intoxication
D)None of the above because she was asleep when Larry was injured.

Question 14

Under Texas law,the per se standard of intoxication is based on the measurement of the offender's BAC.The letters BAC refer to:

A)blood amount in cardiovascular system.
B)breath alcohol combination.
C)blood alcohol concentration.
D)breath and circulation.

Question 15

George drives his wife Martha to a doctor's appointment.He waits in the car.When she returns from the doctor's office,she tells George "I'm pregnant." "That's great news," George replies."Let's celebrate." The two go to a local restaurant and bar.Over the next several hours they celebrate by drinking excessively.When closing time arrives,they depart in their automobile with Martha driving because they agree George has had way too much to drink.Unfortunately,so has Martha.On the way home,due to her intoxicated condition,Martha falls asleep at the wheel.The car runs off the road and overturns.George is killed.Martha survives but miscarries at the scene.What is (are)the most serious offense(s),if any,Martha has committed?

A)intoxication manslaughter of George and the fetus
B)intoxication manslaughter of George
C)driving while intoxicated
D)no offenses because the deaths were accidents

Question 16

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?

A)Carol is not guilty of driving while intoxicated because her BAC is below the statutorily required level.
B)Carol is not guilty of driving while intoxicated because even though she may have been intoxicated,she was not operating her vehicle on a public roadway.
C)Carol is not guilty of driving while intoxicated because the facts fail to prove she was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
D)Carol has committed driving while intoxicated (DWI).

Question 17

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:

A)public intoxication.
B)driving while intoxicated.
C)intoxication assault.
D)all of the above offenses.

Question 18

Jack and Jill are out on the lake late on a Saturday afternoon.Both are drinking beer and enjoying themselves.Around sundown Jill decides she wants to go waterskiing.Jack starts their boat and Jill begins skiing behind.After about ten minutes of skiing,Jack reaches for another beer from his ice chest.Jack's level of intoxication causes him to fall out of the seat and onto the floor of the boot.At that moment his craft crashes into a fishing boat,which he had not seen.The two fishermen are knocked overboard.One safely swims to shore but the other drowns.Jill is unharmed.Subsequent investigation reveals that both Jack and Jill's BAC exceeds 0.08.The most serious offense,if any,Jack has committed is:

A)no offense because the collision was an accident.
B)boating while intoxicated.
C)intoxication manslaughter.
D)public intoxication.

Question 19

Late one winter night while on patrol,Oscar,a deputy sheriff,observes an automobile parked along the side of a busy highway.Oscar stops to investigate and finds Ray slumped over the steering wheel asleep with the car's ignition turned off.Oscar awakens Ray and observes that Ray's speech is slurred,his eyes bloodshot,and he smells of the odor of alcohol.Oscar would be legally justified to arrest Ray for:

A)public intoxication.
B)driving while intoxicated.
C)being asleep at the wheel.
D)obstructing a highway.

Question 20

Bob is riding on the back of Ray's motorcycle.As they round a corner at high speed,Ray loses control of the motorcycle and crashes into an embankment.Both men are tossed onto the ground.A police officer stops to render aid.Bob is scratched up but otherwise unharmed.Ray's left arm is fractured.The officer notes that both men are intoxicated.Which of the following is a correct statement about this situation?

A)Ray has committed intoxication assault as to Bob.
B)Bob has committed intoxication assault as to Ray.
C)Ray has committed intoxication assault as to himself.
D)None of the above is a correct statement about this situation.

Question 21

The Texas public intoxication statute authorizes justice personnel to divert intoxicated individuals away from the justice system.

Question 22

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

Question 23

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

Question 24

To establish that an accused has committed the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI),the prosecution is required to prove that the accused knew he or she was intoxicated.

Question 25

Because he has a revoked driver's license,John is driving his riding lawnmower on a neighborhood sidewalk on his way to a nearby convenience store.John is intoxicated.John is not committing the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI)because he is not on the roadway.

Question 26

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.

Question 27

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

Question 28

Blood alcohol concentration can be determined by a laboratory examination of blood,breath,or ________.

Question 29

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.

Question 30

A blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater is known as intoxication ________.

Question 31

With the individual's consent,an intoxicated person may lawfully be placed in a substance abuse treatment facility instead of being arrested and placed in jail.

Question 32

Intoxication manslaughter is the appropriate charge when a manslaughter occurs and either the perpetrator or the victim were intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Question 33

Intoxication manslaughter is limited in its application only to deaths caused by drunk drivers on public highways.

Question 34

An intoxication assault is committed when a drunk driver nearly hits another person or the other person is reasonably fearful of being struck.

Question 35

An individual who is intoxicated in his own home commits no violation of Texas law.

Question 36

To commit public intoxication under Texas law,an individual must be both drunk and disorderly.

Question 37

One method of determining whether an individual is intoxicated after smoking marijuana is by an assessment of the effect the substance manifests.

Question 38

The BAC standard is the measure used to determine whether or not a driver is intoxicated on cocaine.

Question 39

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

Question 40

Any time an intoxicated individual carelessly shoots and kills another person,a charge of intoxication manslaughter is legally appropriate.

Question 41

In driving while intoxicated cases,the most common method of determining whether or not the motorist is intoxicated is by measuring the relative amount alcohol in a sample of the suspect's ________.

Question 42

In lieu of placing an intoxicated individual in jail,a peace officer is authorized to release the individual into the care of a ________.

Question 43

Under Texas law,peace officers can process intoxicated persons in at least three different ways.Two of those ways essentially involve releasing the intoxicated person to another's custody without the filing of criminal charges.This indicates a general public policy of protection not punishment for intoxicated persons.Should Texas completely decriminalize the offense of public intoxication? Are there any circumstances in which a publicly intoxicated individual should answer to criminal charges?

Question 44

A drunk driver who causes the death of another motorist will often be charged with the offense of ________ manslaughter.

Question 45

To commit the offense of public intoxication,the individual must be intoxicated in a public place to the degree that he may ________ himself or another.

Question 46

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

Question 47

To obtain a conviction for intoxication assault in a typical case,the prosecution must prove that the offender was intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle and caused ________ to another.

Question 48

In order to successfully convict an accused of either intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter,the prosecution must establish a causal link between the intoxicated driver's condition and the resultant injury or death.What factors might be used to establish such a link to the satisfaction of a jury?

Question 49

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

Question 50

Whether privately owned property is a "public place" for purposes of the public intoxication statute is determined by the ________ the general public has to the property.

Question 51

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.

Question 52

A primary element of the offenses of public intoxication,driving while intoxicated,intoxication assault,and intoxication manslaughter is that the offender was intoxicated at the time of the offense.Explain the definition of the term "intoxicated" under Texas law.

Question 53

To commit the offense of public intoxication,the individual must be intoxicated in a ________ to the degree that he may endanger himself or another.

Question 54

In an intoxication assault case,the culpable mental state of the offender is ________.

Question 55

Texas law grants peace officers the specific authority to release ________ individuals without taking them before a magistrate as is normally required after arrest.

Question 56

To be convicted of driving under the influence (DUI),in addition to the other elements of the offense the prosecution must establish that the accused driver was under ________ years of age.

Question 57

In intoxication manslaughter prosecutions,a ________ link between the intoxicated state of the driver and the death of the victim must be proven.

Question 58

The power to divert intoxicated individuals away from the justice system is consistent with the ________ philosophy of the public intoxication statute.