Approved 12/13/99

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT - WHILE FLEEING OR

ATTEMPTING TO ELUDE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

(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 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.


[1] N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1a.

[2] N.J.S.A. 2C:2-3e.

[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.