(N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(6))
The defendant (Name) is charged in count with the crime of aggravated assault. The indictment alleges:
(READ APPROPRIATE COUNT OF INDICTMENT)
The statute upon which this charge is based provides:
A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he/she causes bodily injury to another person while fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer in violation of [another statute defining the offense of eluding]...
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of this crime the State must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. That defendant caused bodily injury to another person;
and
2. That defendant did so while fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer in violation of the statute defining the eluding offense.
Bodily injury is defined as physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition.1 In order to find that the defendant caused bodily injury to (victim), you must find beyond a reasonable doubt, first, that (victim) would not have been injured but for defendant's conduct, and, second, that the bodily injury was a probable consequence of the defendant’s conduct.2 A probable consequence is one which is not too remote, accidental in its occurrence or too dependent on the conduct of another to have a just bearing on defendant's liability or the
1 N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1a.
2 N.J.S.A. 2C:2-3e.
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT - WHILE FLEEING OR
ATTEMPTING TO ELUDE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(6)
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gravity of his offense.3
I have already instructed you on the crime of eluding, and you should apply those instructions here to determine whether the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.4
In conclusion, the two elements the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt are:
1. That defendant caused bodily injury to another person;
and
2. That defendant did so while fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer in violation of the statute defining the eluding offense.
If you are satisfied that the State has proven both of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty of aggravated assault. However, if you are not convinced that each of the elements has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty.
3 State v. Martin, 119 N.J. 2 (1990).
4 This charge is drafted for the typical situation in which the predicate offense of eluding a law enforcement officer in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2b will also have been charged in the indictment. In other situations, the charge will have to be modified to incorporate the eluding charge in full.
