R v Dowds [2012] EWCA Crim 281

Court: Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Facts: D, a binge drinker, killed his partner while heavily intoxicated. He argued that his acute intoxication should qualify as diminished responsibility.

Issue: Is voluntary acute intoxication capable of founding a partial defense of diminished responsibility under s. 2(1) of the Homicide Act 1957?

Held: Acute voluntary intoxication, even if recognized as a condition in medical classification (ICD-10 or DSM), does not amount to a qualifying medical condition under the law for diminished responsibility.

Key Judicial Statement: Lord Judge CJ emphasized, "Voluntary intoxication, without more, does not qualify as an abnormality of mental functioning."