(NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF BODILY INJURY
WITH A DEADLY WEAPON)
(N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(5)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e),
(f), (g)[1] Model Jury charge
Count
of this indictment charges the defendant with
aggravated assault.
(Read appropriate count of indictment).
The defendant is accused of violating a law that provides
in pertinent part:
A person is guilty of aggravated
assault if he . . . (n)egligently causes bodily injury to . . . with a deadly
weapon . . . to . . . (a)ny law enforcement officer acting in the performance
of (his/her) duties while in uniform or exhibiting evidence of (his/her)
authority or because of (his/her) status as a law enforcement officer.
For you
to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the State must prove each of the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. that the defendant negligently caused
bodily injury (insert name of victim);
2. that the defendant caused bodily injury
with a deadly weapon;
3. that (insert name of victim) was
a law-enforcement officer; and
4a. that the defendant knew that (insert
name of victim) was a law-enforcement officer[2] acting
in the performance of (his/her) duties or while in uniform or exhibiting
evidence of (his/her) authority;[3] or
4b. that the defendant knew that (insert
name of victim) was a law-enforcement officer[4] and
purposely committed the act against (him/her) because of (him/her) status as a
law-enforcement officer.
The
first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant negligently caused bodily injury to (insert name of victim).
Bodily injury means physical pain,
illness or any impairment of physical condition.[5]
A person
acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense, such as the
infliction of bodily injury, when he/she
should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material
element exists or will result from his/her
conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the actor’s failure
to perceive it, considering the nature and purpose of the actor's conduct and
the circumstances known to the actor, involves a gross deviation from the
standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's
situation.
Negligence
is a condition of the mind that cannot be seen and that can often be determined
only from inferences from conduct, words or acts. It is not necessary for the
State to produce a witness to testify that the defendant stated that he/she
acted with a particular state of mind. It is within your power to find that
proof of negligence has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inferences
that may arise from the nature of the acts and circumstances surrounding the
conduct in question.
For
you to find that the defendant caused bodily injury to (insert name of
victim), the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he/she would not have been injured but for the defendant’s conduct.[6]
The
second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant used a deadly weapon to cause bodily injury to (insert name of
victim).
A
deadly weapon is any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material or
substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner it is used or is
intended to be used, is known to be capable of producing death or serious
bodily injury, or which in the manner it is fashioned would lead the victim
reasonably to believe it to be capable of producing death or serious bodily
injury.[7]
The
third element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that (insert
name of victim) was a law-enforcement officer.
A
law-enforcement officer is any person who is employed as a permanent full-time
member of any State, county or municipal law-enforcement agency, department or
division of those governments and who is statutorily empowered to act for the
detection, investigation, arrest, conviction, detention or rehabilitation of persons
violating the criminal laws of this state.[8]
The
fourth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is:
a. that
the defendant knew that (insert name of victim) was a law-enforcement
officer
acting in the performance of (his/her) duties or while in uniform or
exhibiting
evidence of (his/her) authority; or
b. that
the defendant knew that (insert name of victim) was a law-enforcement
officer and purposely committed the act against (him/her) because of (his/her)
status as a law-enforcement officer.
A
person acts purposely with respect to the nature of his/her conduct or a
result thereof if it is a person's conscious object to engage in conduct of
that nature or to cause such a result. A person acts purposely with respect to
attendant circumstances if a person is aware of the existence of such
circumstances or a person believes or hopes that they exist. One can be deemed
to be acting purposely if one acts with design, with a purpose, with a
particular object, if one really means to do what he/she does.[9]
A
person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if a person is aware that his/her conduct is of that nature, or that such circumstances exist or a
person is aware of a high probability of their existence. A person acts
knowingly with respect to a result of his/her conduct if a person is aware that it is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result. One is said to act knowingly if one
acts with knowledge, if one acts consciously, if he/she comprehends his/her acts.[10]
Like
negligence, purpose and knowledge are conditions of the mind that cannot be
seen and that can often be determined only from inferences from conduct, words
or acts.
If
you find that the State has proven every element beyond a reasonable doubt,
then you must find the defendant guilty. If, however, the State has failed to
prove any element beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find him/her not guilty.
(Where appropriate charge simple assault as a lesser
offense.)[11]
[1] This
charge is drafted for the most common situation, where a defendant is charged
with aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer under N.J.S.A.
2C:12-1b(5)(a). Other sections of the statute apply, with differing language,
to aggravated assault upon paid and volunteer firemen; emergency first-aid and
medical personnel; school board members, school administrators, teachers and
other employees of a school board; employees of the Division of Youth and
Family Services; the judiciary; and bus drivers and railroad employees. N.J.S.A.
2C:12-1b(5)(b) to (g). As always, the Model Charge must be adapted to fit the
facts of each case.
[2] State v. Green, 318 N.J.
Super. 361, 376 (App. Div. 1999), aff’d o.b., 163 N.J. 140
(2000) (the defendant must know that the victim is a law-enforcement officer).
[3] If transferred intent is an issue, the
charge should be modified accordingly. State in the Interest of S.B.,
333 N.J. Super. 236, 243 (App. Div. 2000).
[6] N.J.S.A. 2C:2-3a(1). If
causation is contested, a fuller explanation of causation may be needed. N.J.S.A.
2C:2-3.