(N.J.S.A. 2C:2-6) model jury charge
ACCOMPLICE
CHARGE # ONE - Where
defendant is charged as accomplice and jury does not receive instruction on
lesser included charges.
The
indictment charges/or the State alleges[1] that the
defendant is legally responsible for the criminal conduct of X[2], in
violation of a law which reads in pertinent part as follows:
A person is guilty of an offense if it is committed by
his own conduct or the conduct of another person for which he is legally
accountable, or both.
A
person is legally accountable for the conduct of another person when he/she is an accomplice of such other
person in the commission of an offense.
A
person is an accomplice of another person in the commission of an offense if,
with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense, he/she
(a) solicits such other person to commit it and/or (b) aids or agrees or
attempts to aid such other person in planning or committing it.
This
provision of the law means that not only is the person who actually commits the
criminal act responsible for it but one who is legally accountable as an
accomplice is also responsible as if he/she committed the crime(s) himself/herself.
In
this case, the State alleges that the defendant is guilty of the crime(s)
committed by X because he/she acted as his/her accomplice. In order to find the defendant guilty, the
State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements:
1. That X committed the crime(s) of
___________________. I will now explain
the elements of this/these offense(s).
2. That this defendant solicited him/her to
commit it/them and/or did aid or agree or attempt to aid him/her in planning or
committing it/them.
3. That this defendant’s purpose was to promote
or facilitate the commission of the offense(s).
4. That this defendant possessed the criminal
state of mind that is required to be proved against the person who actually
committed the act.
Remember
that one acts purposely with respect to his/her
conduct or a result thereof if it is his/her
conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result.
“Solicit”
means to strongly urge, suggest, lure or proposition. “Aid” means to assist, support or supplement
the efforts of another. “Agrees to aid”
means to encourage by promise of assistance or support. “Attempt to aid” means that a person takes
substantial steps in a course of conduct designed to or planned to lend support
or assistance in the efforts of another to cause the commission of a
substantive offense.
If
you find that the defendant, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the
commission of the offense(s), solicited X
to commit it/them and/or aided or agreed or attempted to aid him/her in
planning or committing it/them, then you should consider him/her as if he/she committed the crime(s) himself/herself. (If more than one offense is
charged, instruct jury that accomplice status should be considered separately
as to each charge).
To
prove the defendant’s criminal liability, the State does not have to prove his/her accomplice status by direct evidence
of a formal plan to commit a crime.
There does not have to be verbal agreement by all who are charged. The proof may be circumstantial. Participation and agreement can be
established from conduct as well as the spoken words.
(READ IF APPROPRIATE)
Mere
presence at or near the scene does not make one a participant in the crime, nor
does the failure of a spectator to interfere make him/her a participant in the crime. It is, however, a circumstance to be
considered with the other evidence in determining whether he/she was present as an accomplice. Presence is not in itself conclusive evidence
of that fact. Whether presence has any
probative value depends upon the total circumstances. To constitute guilt there must exist a
community of purpose and actual participation in the crime committed.
While
mere presence at the scene of the perpetration of a crime does not render a
person a participant in it, proof that one is present at the scene of the
commission of the crime, without disapproving or opposing it, is evidence from
which, in connection with other circumstances, it is possible for the jury to
infer that he/she assented thereto, lent to it his/her countenance and approval and was
thereby aiding the same. It depends upon
the totality of the circumstances as those circumstances appear from the
evidence.
(RESUME ACCOMPLICE CHARGE)
An
accomplice may be convicted on proof of the commission of a crime or of his/her complicity therein even though the person
who it is claimed committed the crime(s) has not been prosecuted or convicted
or has been convicted of a different offense or degree of offense or has an
immunity from prosecution or conviction of has been acquitted.
In
order to convict the defendant as an accomplice to the crime(s) charged, you
must find that the defendant had the purpose to participate in that particular
crime(s). He/She must act with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of
the substantive crime(s) with which he/she is charged.
It
is not sufficient to prove only that the defendant had knowledge that another
person was going to commit the crime(s) charged. The State must prove that it was defendant’s
conscious object that the specific conduct charged be committed.
In
sum, in order to find the defendant guilty of committing the crime(s) of
_______________________, the State must prove each of the following elements
beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. That X committed the crime(s) of
______________________________.
2. That this defendant’s purpose was to promote
or facilitate the commission of the offense(s).
3. That this defendant solicited him/her to
commit it/them and/or did aid or agree or attempt to aid him/her in planning or
committing it/them.
4. That this defendant possessed the criminal
state of mind that is required to be proved against the person who actually
committed the criminal act.
(Again,
remind the jury to consider the accomplice status separately as to each
charge).
If
you find that the State has proven each and every one of the elements that I
have explained to you beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the
defendant guilty. If on the other hand
you find that the State has failed to prove one or more of these elements
beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty. As I have previously instructed, your
verdict(s) must be unanimous. All twelve
jurors must agree as to guilty or not guilty.
[1] Where the evidence indicates a
rational basis for accomplice liability, the judge can charge the jury on that
basis even though the indictment does not expressly allege a violation of N.J.S.A.
2C:2-6. The court should indicate its
intention to so charge, with or without request, before summations so that
counsel can prepare to comment on the issue of accomplice liability during
summations. See State v. Hakim,
205 N.J. Super. 385, 388 (App. Div. 1985).
