October 3, 2026 - Flydubai Hijacker Had Been Previously Flagged

New York's rape law draws a line most people don't know exists. 

A person counts as "mentally incapacitated," and therefore legally unable to consent to sex, only if the drugs or alcohol were given to them without their consent. If they drank or got high voluntarily, the law generally protects them only if they were "physically helpless," meaning unconscious or physically unable to communicate.

That distinction is at the heart of the Cornell case. The district attorney said the student's original statement described her drug use as voluntary and didn't claim she was unconscious. Under current law, that largely ended the inquiry.

Critics call it the "voluntary intoxication loophole." They argue that someone who is awake but too impaired to make a real decision is no more able to consent just because she chose the first drink. Minnesota closed a similar gap in 2021, after its Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction on exactly this point. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has a bill to do the same in New York.

The other side deserves a hearing. Where is the line between drunk and too drunk? If both people were impaired, who is responsible? And how does a jury decide, months later, whether someone who was conscious and talking could still meaningfully say yes? Defense lawyers warn the change could turn regrettable nights into felonies.

So I'm asking: Should someone who voluntarily got drunk or high be considered legally unable to consent to sex, even if they were conscious and able to communicate? 

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