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6.1-6 Assault in the Second Degree (Serious Physical Injury) -- § 53a-60 (a) (1)
Revised to December 1, 2007
The defendant is charged [in count ___] with assault in the second degree. The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:
a person is guilty of assault in the second degree when with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, (he/she) causes such injury to such person or to a third person.
For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
Element 1 - Intent to cause
serious physical injury
The first element is that the
defendant specifically intended to cause serious physical injury to another
person. A person acts "intentionally"
with respect to a result when (his/her) conscious objective is to cause such
result. <See
Intent: Specific, Instruction 2.3-1.>
"Serious physical injury" is something more serious than mere physical injury, which is defined as "impairment of physical condition or pain." It is more than a minor or superficial injury. It is defined by statute as "physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health or serious loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ."
Element 2 - Caused serious
physical injury
The second element is that, acting
with that intent, the defendant caused serious physical injury to that person or
to a third person. This means that the defendant's conduct was the proximate
cause of <insert name of person injured>'s injuries. You must find it
proved beyond a reasonable doubt that <insert name of person injured> was
injured as a result of the actions of the defendant. <See
Proximate Cause, Instruction 2.6-1.>
[<If person injured was not the person intended:> It does not matter whether <insert name of person injured> was the person upon whom the defendant intended to inflict serious physical injury. It is sufficient if you find that the defendant intended to cause serious physical injury to another person and that (he/she) in fact caused serious physical injury to that person or to some other person.]
Conclusion
In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 1) the defendant had the specific intent to cause serious physical injury to <insert name of person injured>, and 2) the defendant did cause serious physical injury to <insert name of person injured>.
If you unanimously find that the state
has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of the crime of
assault in the second degree, then you shall find the defendant guilty. On the
other hand, if you unanimously find that the state has failed to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the defendant not
guilty.