AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (N.J.S.A.
2C:12-1b(4)) Model Jury charge
Count of the indictment charges defendant with Aggravated Assault by Pointing a Firearm. The statute upon which this count of the indictment is based reads, in pertinent part, as follows:
[An actor] is guilty of aggravated assault if he
knowingly, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of
human life, points a firearm…at or in the direction of another whether or not
the actor believes it to be loaded.
In order
for you to find the defendant guilty of this count of the indictment, the State
must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
First: that
the defendant knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the of another whether or
not the defendant believed it to be loaded;
Second: that
the defendant acted under circumstances that manifested extreme indifference to
the value of human life.
A
firearm is defined as any pistol, revolver, rifle … etc. (See footnote
definition and use appropriate portion thereof as facts dictate).[1]
A
person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her
conduct or the attendant circumstances if the person is aware that his/her
conduct is of that nature, or that such circumstances exist or the person is
aware of a high probability of their existence.
A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of his/her
conduct if the person is aware that it is practically certain that his/her
conduct will cause such a result. In
other words, to satisfy this element, the State must prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that when the defendant pointed the firearm, the defendant was aware that
he/she was doing so or was aware that it was highly probable that his/her
act would result in the pointing of the firearm in such a fashion.
[NOTE: When the actual
person at whom or in whose direction the firearm is pointed is one other than
the intended victim, add:
It is
immaterial that (name of victim) was not the intended victim so long as the
other elements of this crime have been proven to you beyond a reasonable
doubt.)
Furthermore, it is
unnecessary for the State to prove that the defendant believed the firearm was
loaded.
The second element the
State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant acted under
circumstances that manifest extreme indifference to the value of human
life. The phrase “under circumstances
manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life” does not focus on
defendant’s state of mind, but rather on the circumstances under which you find
the defendant acted. The State must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant acted in a way that showed that
the defendant was indifferent to whether or not the victim or another lived or
died, that is, the defendant acted in a way which showed that defendant did not
care that someone might be killed.
To summarize, the State
must prove two elements beyond a reasonable doubt in order for you to find the
defendant guilty of this count:
(1) That the defendant knowingly pointed a
firearm at or in the direction of another whether or not the defendant believed
it to be loaded;
(2) That the defendant acted under
circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
If you are satisfied
that these two elements have been proven to you beyond a reasonable doubt, then
you must find the defendant guilty. If
you are not satisfied that the State has proven these two elements beyond a
reasonable doubt then you must find the defendant not guilty.
[1] N.J.S.A.
2C:39-1f: Definition of Firearm - A
firearm is defined as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm as the term is
commonly used, or any gun from which may be fired or ejected any solid
projectile ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet, or any gas, vapor or other
noxious thing, by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an
explosive or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances. It shall also include, without limitation,
any carbon dioxide or compressed air gun or pistol, or other weapon of a
similar nature in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon
dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited
by compressed air, or ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than 3/8 of an inch
in diameter, with sufficient force to injure the person.