There are horror stories about boozing to oblivion. They involve waking up with a bloody weapon in your hand or marrying the wrong person in Vegas-and having no idea what or how it happened. True, these tales may sound like freaky things that happen to some other sucker, but I'd say they affect us more than we'd think. "I blacked out" is an excuse I've heard a lot over the years (albeit not as an plea against murder charges), and I know a number of people who have a nasty habit of drinking far too much and then have no recollection of what happened. I am not too worried about the somewhat "charismatic" behavior of drunken friends after a few cocktails, but I am disturbed if they miss out entirely on the night we spent together.

I am not sure how the law figures such things, but ...