ASSAULT BY AUTO OR VESSEL
(BODILY INJURY, WITHOUT DRUNK
DRIVING OR REFUSAL)
(N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1c) model jury charge
The defendant (Name) is charged in count _____ with the
crime of assault by auto [or vessel].
The indictment alleges:
(READ APPROPRIATE COUNT OF INDICTMENT)
The statute upon which this charge is based provides:
A person is guilty of assault
by auto [or vessel] when the person drives a vehicle [or vessel] recklessly and
causes...bodily injury to another.
In order
for you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, the State must prove the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
2. That defendant caused bodily injury to
(name victim); and
3. That defendant caused such bodily injury by driving
the
vehicle [or vessel] recklessly.
In order to find that defendant caused (victim's) injury,
you must find that (victim) would not have been injured but for defendant's
conduct.[3]
A person acts recklessly when he/she consciously disregards a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that bodily injury will result from his/her conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree
that, considering the nature and purpose of the defendant's conduct and the
circumstances known to him/her, disregard of the risk
involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable
person would observe in the defendant's situation.
In other words, in order for you to find the defendant
drove a vehicle [or vessel] recklessly, the State must prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant was aware that he/she was operating a vehicle [or
vessel] in such a manner or under such circumstances as to create a substantial
and unjustifiable risk of bodily injury to another. The State must also prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that the defendant consciously disregarded this risk and that the disregard
of the risk was a gross deviation from the way a reasonable
person would have conducted himself/herself
in the situation.
Recklessness 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 recklessness 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.
[WHERE A VIOLATION OF THE
MOTOR VEHICLE STATUTES
IS ALLEGED, ADD THE
FOLLOWING]
The State alleges that the
defendant's conduct involved [a] violation[s] of the motor vehicle laws of this
State. Specifically, it is alleged that the defendant [list motor vehicle violations alleged and their elements].
Whether he/she is guilty or not of that
[those] offense[s] will be determined by an appropriate court.[4] In other words, it is not your job to decide
whether he/she is guilty or not guilty of
the motor vehicle offense[s]. However, you may consider the evidence that he/she committed [a] motor vehicle
offense[s] in deciding whether he/she was reckless.
[CHARGE IN ALL CASES]
In conclusion, the three
elements of the crime of assault by auto [or vessel] are:
1. That the defendant was driving a vehicle
[or vessel];
2. That the defendant caused bodily injury
to (name victim); and
3. That the defendant caused such bodily
injury by driving the vehicle [or vessel] recklessly.
If you are satisfied that the
State has proven each and every one of these elements beyond a reasonable
doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty of assault by auto [or vessel].
However, if the State has failed to prove any element beyond a reasonable
doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty of assault by auto [or
vessel].
[1] N.J.S.A.
2C:12-1c provides: "As used in this
section, 'vessel' means a means of conveyance for travel on water and propelled
otherwise than by muscular power."