Farmer v. State

411 S.W.3d 901 (2013)

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Farmer v. State

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
411 S.W.3d 901 (2013)

KL

Facts

Kody William Farmer (defendant) took prescription drugs due to a work-related back injury. Typically, he took two painkillers every morning. His wife would set them out on top of the microwave for him to take before driving to work. Farmer’s doctor also prescribed him Ambien, a sleep aid, with instructions to take it at night. One day shortly after Farmer began taking Ambien, his wife put out his pills on the microwave as usual, including the Ambien, placing the two painkillers separate from the Ambien. Farmer mistakenly ingested the Ambien that morning and left for work in his car. Police pulled Farmer over for suspected driving while intoxicated, and a blood test confirmed he had Ambien in his system. At trial, Farmer asked the court to include a jury instruction on the defense of voluntariness, meaning the jury could not find him not guilty if they found that he did not voluntarily become intoxicated. The court denied Farmer’s request, and he was convicted. The first court of appeal agreed with Farmer, finding that the facts supported Farmer’s argument that he involuntarily took Ambien because of his wife’s act in putting it on top of the microwave with his other pills, justifying a jury instruction on voluntariness. The state (plaintiff) appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Hervey, J.)

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