What is auto-brewery syndrome?

 Posted on July 25, 2018 in OWI

Some people suffer from the rare condition that turns them into a walking beer factory. These individuals -- when they eat anything that has sugar in it -- suffer from an automatic process by which their bodies convert the food into beer, and this makes them unintentionally drunk. Although it's hard to imagine that it could be true, auto-brewery syndrome is real. Not only that, but in a New Jersey drunk driving case last year, a woman successfully defended against her drunk driving charges because of the condition.

The accused woman claimed that she enjoyed drinking as much as a gallon of orange juice a day, and that she was also a recovering alcoholic. On the night of her arrest, the woman says that she had been sober for nearly a decade, but she also felt drunk. In fact, the woman explained to the jury that she had been feeling strange for approximately a year before her DUI arrest. During the arrest, she blew a level .10 when given a Breathalyzer test.

After the woman later obtained a diagnosis of auto-brewery syndrome, she was able to get her DUI charges reduced. Auto-brewery syndrome results in a patient's digestive tract getting overloaded with yeast that ferments carbohydrate-rich foods. The case could be one of the first examples of the successful use of the "auto-brewery defense. Most sufferers of this condition don't realize they have it until after a negative consequence results.

If you're navigating drunk driving charges in Wisconsin court, make sure you review all the potential ways you could defend yourself against conviction. Some defense options could be more suitable for your situation than others.