People v. Berg

An officer observed defendant cross a street with no regard for traffic and then drink from a bottle of whiskey. Defendant smelled strongly of alcohol and had slurred speech. He was arrested for misdemeanor public intoxication. When defendant was searched in the Monterey County Jail almost two days after his arrest, a deputy noticed plastic wrapping in between defendant’s buttocks--later found to contain methamphetamine. Defendant was charged with knowingly possessing methamphetamine in jail. In that felony case, the prosecution moved to exclude testimony about defendant’s intoxication at the time of his arrest for the underlying misdemeanor, citing Evidence Code sections 350 and 352 and arguing that defendant had “sufficient time to be aware of what [was] going on” such that defendant’s intoxication when he entered the jail was irrelevant. The court agreed. Defendant requested a special jury instruction: “The Defendant knew of the substance’s presence and had the opportunity to voluntar[il]y relinquish it before it was located by law enforcement.” The court denied the request, stating that the issue was “not an element” of section 4573.6. The court of appeal affirmed his conviction under Pen. Code 4753.6(a). Because evidence of voluntary intoxication is inadmissible to negate the presence of general criminal intent (Pen. Code 29.4(a)), there was no prejudicial error. View "People v. Berg" on Justia Law