Senior Associate
Email: strong@azlegal.com
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480.833-1114 (fax)
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Beware The Blackout!
Over the past seventeen years, I have defended dozens of people who cannot remember what happened on the night they were arrested. These clients are quick to inquire about the types of head injuries that might have caused their amnesia. In reality, however, their lack of memory is more often than not an alcohol-induced blackout.
Blacking out is different from passing out. Passing out means you fall asleep or literally drink yourself unconscious. In a black out state, however, a person appears to be actively participating in the activities and conversations around him or her. In basic terms, the human body is a walking-talking robot with a camera for eyes and a DVR inside. Memories are simply the “play-back” mode of our internal DVR. In an alcohol-induced blackout, the “Record” button never gets pushed.
Clients who have suffered from alcohol blackouts are astounded to read police reports that detail all they said and did. Most people erroneously believe that you have to be a major league drunk to experience a blackout. That simply is not true. One of the scariest things about alcohol is that even a relatively small amount can trigger a black out state.
And please, do not assume that a person must have a clear memory of his of her actions in under to be punished. In Arizona, voluntary intoxication is NEVER a defense! Just because you do not remember doing it, does not mean you will not be incarcerated for it.
While waking up in jail cannot be fun, I cannot even imagine waking up in jail with zero memory of how I got there. Should you desire to educate yourself or your teens more fully about alcohol blackouts, I highly recommend an article by Aaron M. White, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor at the Duke University Medical Center. Dr. White’s article can be found on the web at: http://www.duke.edu/~amwhite/Blackouts/index.html .
If you ever find yourself charged with DUI please call Rowley Chapman Barney & Buntrock, Ltd. at (480) 833-1113, and ask for Brian Strong. I will help you find your way back out of the darkness.