ASSAULT BY AUTO OR VESSEL
(SERIOUS 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...serious 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
serious bodily injury to (name victim); and
3. That defendant caused
such serious bodily injury by driving the vehicle [or vessel] recklessly.
Bodily injury is defined as physical pain, illness or any
impairment of physical condition.[2] Serious bodily injury is defined as bodily injury which
creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent
disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily
member or organ.[3]
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.[4]
A person acts recklessly when
he/she consciously disregards a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that serious 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 serious
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.[5] 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 serious bodily
injury to (name victim); and
3. That
the defendant caused such serious 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."