MURDER
(N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(l) and 3a(2))
The defendant is charged by indictment with the murder of (insert name of victim). Count __________ of the indictment reads as follows: (Read indictment)
A person is guilty of murder if he/she:
(1) purposely causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death;1 or
(2) knowingly causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death.
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of murder, the State is required to prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) that the defendant caused (insert victim' s name) death or serious bodily injury resulting in (insert victim's name) death, and
(2) that the defendant did so purposely or knowingly.
One element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant acted purposely or knowingly.
A person who causes another's death does so purposely when it is the person's conscious object to cause death or serious bodily injury resulting in death.2
A person who causes another's death does so knowingly when the person is aware that it is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause death or serious bodily injury resulting in death.3
The nature of the purpose or knowledge with which the defendant acted toward (insert victim's name) is a question of fact for you the jury to decide. Purpose and knowledge are conditions of the mind which cannot be seen and can only be determined by inferences from conduct, wordsor acts. It is not necessary for the State to produce a witness or witnesses who could testify that the defendant stated, for example, that (his/her) purpose was to cause death or serious bodily injury resulting in death; or that (he/she) knew that (his/her) conduct would cause death or serious bodily injury resulting in death. It is within your power to find that proof of purpose or knowledge has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inferences which may arise from the nature of the acts and the surrounding circumstances. Such things as the place where the acts occurred, the weapon used, the location, number and nature of wounds inflicted, and all that was done or said by the defendant preceding, connected with, and immediately succeeding the events leading to the death of (insert victim's name) are among the circumstances to be considered.
The other element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant caused (insert victim's name) death or serious bodily injury resulting in death.
"Serious bodily injury" means 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."4
(If causal relationship between conduct and result is not an issue, charge the following paragraph:)
Whether the killing is committed purposely or knowingly, causing death or serious bodily injury resulting in death must be within the design or contemplation of the defendant.
(If causal relationship between conduct and result is an issue, charge the following:5)
Causation has a special meaning under the law. To establish causation, the State must prove two elements, each beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, that but for the defendant's conduct, the victim would not have died.
Second, (insert victim's name) death must have been within the design or contemplation ofthe defendant. If not, it must involve the same kind of injury or harm as that designed or contemplated, and must also not be too remote, too
accidental in its occurrence or too dependent on another' s volitional act to have a just bearing on the defendant's liability or on the gravity of (his/her) offense. In other words, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (insert victim's name) death was not so unexpected or unusual that it would be unjust to find the defendant guilty of murder.6
(Where the defendant and State offer contrasting factual theories of causation, each version should be summarized for the jury.7)
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of murder the State must first establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant caused (insert victim's name) death or serious bodily injury resulting in death, either purposely or knowingly, as I have defined these terms for you. The State, however, is not required to prove a motive. If the State has proved the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant must be found guilty of that offense regardless of the defendant's motive or lack of a motive. If the State, however, has proved a motive, you may consider that insofar as it gives meaning to other circumstances.8 On the other hand, you may consider the absence of motive in weighing whether or not the defendant is guilty of the crime charged.
A homicide or a killing with a deadly weapon, such as (describe the deadly weapon used) in itself would permit you to draw an inference that the defendant's purpose was to take life or cause serious bodily injury resulting in death. A deadly weapon is any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material or substance, which in the manner it is used or is intended to be used, is knownto be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.9 In your deliberations you may consider the weapon used and the manner and circumstances of the killing, and if you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant (shot) (stabbed) and killed (insert victim's name) with a (gun) (knife) you may draw an inference from the weapon used, that is, the (gun) (knife), and from the manner and circumstances of the killing, as to the defendant's purpose or knowledge.
If after a consideration of all the evidence you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant either purposely or knowingly caused (insert victim's name) death or serious bodily injury resulting in death, then your verdict should be guilty.
If, however, after a consideration of all the evidence you find that the State has failed to prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, your verdict must be not guilty.
1 Note that in State v. Gilliam, 224 N.J. Super. 759 (App. Div. 1988), the Court held that an actor must intend to cause death in order to be guilty of attempted murder. If the actor intends to cause serious bodily injury, then he cannot be guilty of attempted murder. Therefore, when this charge is combined with N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1 (Attempt) to charge attempted murder, it is necessary to omit all references to serious bodily injury resulting in death.
5 State v. Martin, 119 N.J. 2, 16-18 (1990).
6 State v. Martin, 119 N.J. at 33.
7 State v. Martin, 119 N.J. at 18.
8 State v. Beard, 16 N.J. 50, 60 (1954).
9 N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1c; State v. Jones, 115 N.J.L. 257, 262 (E. & A. 1935).