Commonwealth v. Graves
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
334 A.2d 661 (1975)
Relevant factsFree
Graves (defendant) consumed wine and a hallucinogen before burglarizing a residence, during which the owner was injured and later died; Graves was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and burglary and appealed, and the majority ordered a new trial, evidently permitting evidence of his voluntary intoxication to negate the specific intent required for the burglary and robbery charges (the casebook excerpt provides only the dissent's reasoning in detail).
IssueFree
Whether evidence of voluntary intoxication may be used to negate the specific intent required for the crimes of burglary and robbery, rather than merely to reduce the degree of an offense that already requires specific intent.