Judge rules Indiana man cannot use intoxication as defense

A Branch County Visiting Circuit Judge has barred an Indiana man from arguing intoxication should excuse his actions.

Judge Amy Ronayne Krause ruled Zachary Adams, 46, of Ft. Wayne, cannot present evidence or argument claiming voluntary intoxication as a defense. Adams is accused of a deadly 2024 boat collision on Coldwater Lake which claimed the life of 46-year-old Cory Butler of Grabill, Indiana. He faces charges of negligent crippling homicide, fourth-degree child abuse, false reporting of a felony and reckless operation of a vessel.

Prosecutors maintain Adams was operating a speedboat which struck and flipped onto Butler’s boat around 11 p.m. Adams’ wife, Tasha Adams, previously pleaded no contest to lying to police about who was piloting the boat and received two years probation.

Court records show Adams initially fled the scene following the crash. He later told investigators his then 15-year-old daughter was driving the speedboat because he was “too drunk to drive.”

Adams’ trial is scheduled to begin in January. The judge’s decision underscores longstanding principles in Michigan criminal law where defendants generally cannot rely on self-induced intoxication to avoid responsibility for offenses involving recklessness or negligence.