When assessing whether jury directions on intoxication and intent amount to a miscarriage of justice, the directions must be viewed in totality including both written and oral components. Written directions are likely to be relied upon by the jury and will tend to swamp the force of oral directions in the jury room. It is not necessary for a jury to make a positive finding of intoxication before considering its relevance to intent; it is enough that the evidence including as to intoxication raises a reasonable doubt as to intent. However, where intoxication is disputed, the jury must be told to consider the evidence on that point. The Bench Book direction suggesting the jury must 'decide' whether the accused was intoxicated would be better expressed using the word 'consider'.
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