CALCRIM No. 2720

§ 4500)

The defendant is charged [in Count] with assault with

(force likely to produce great bodily injury/a deadly weapon) with malice

aforethought, while serving a life sentence [in violation of Penal Code

section 4500].

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must

prove that:

<Alternative 1A—force with weapon>

[1. The defendant did an act with a deadly weapon that by its nature

would directly and probably result in the application of force to a

person;]

<Alternative 1B—force without weapon>

[1. The defendant did an act that by its nature would directly and

probably result in the application of force to a person, and the force

used was likely to produce great bodily injury;]

2. The defendant did that act willfully;

3. When the defendant acted, (he/she) was aware of facts that would

lead a reasonable person to realize that (his/her) act by its nature would

directly and probably result in the application of force to someone;

4. When the defendant acted, (he/she) had the present ability to apply

force (likely to produce great bodily injury/with a deadly weapon) to a

person;

5. The defendant acted with malice aforethought;

[AND]

<Alternative 6A—defendant sentenced to life term>

[6. When (he/she) acted, the defendant had been sentenced to a

maximum term of life in state prison [in California](;/.)]

<Alternative 6B—defendant sentenced to life and to determinate term>

[6. When (he/she) acted, the defendant had been sentenced to both a

specific term of years and a maximum term of life in state prison [in

California](;/.)]

<Give element 7 when self-defense or defense of another is an issue raised

by the evidence.>

[AND

7. The defendant did not act (in self-defense/ [or] in defense of

someone else).]

Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on

purpose.

The terms application of force and apply force mean to touch in a

harmful or offensive manner. The slightest touching can be enough if it

is done in a rude or angry way. Making contact with another person,

including through his or her clothing, is enough. The touching does not

have to cause pain or injury of any kind.

[The touching can be done indirectly (by causing an object [or someone

else] to touch the other person/ [or] by touching something held by or

attached to the other person).]

[The People are not required to prove that the defendant actually

touched someone.]

No one needs to actually have been injured by defendant’s act. But if

someone was injured, you may consider that fact, along with all the

other evidence, in deciding whether the defendant committed an assault[,

and if so, what kind of assault it was].

[A deadly weapon is any object, instrument, or weapon [that is inherently

deadly or dangerous or one] that is used in such a way that it is capable

of causing and likely to cause death or great bodily injury.]

[An object is inherently deadly if it is deadly or dangerous in the

ordinary use for which it was designed.]

[In deciding whether an object is a deadly weapon, consider all the

surrounding circumstances.]

[Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is

an injury that is greater than moderate harm.]

[The term (great bodily injury/deadly weapon) is defined in another

instruction.]

There are two kinds of malice aforethought, express malice and implied

malice. Proof of either is sufficient to establish the state of mind required

for this crime.

The defendant acted with express malice if (he/she) unlawfully intended

to kill the person assaulted.

The defendant acted with implied malice if:

1. (He/She) intentionally committed an act.

2. The natural and probable consequences of the act were

dangerous to human life.

CALCRIM No. 2720 CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT

3. At the time (he/she) acted, (he/she) knew (his/her) act was

dangerous to human life.

AND

4. (He/She) deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human

life.

Malice aforethought does not require hatred or ill will toward the victim.

It is a mental state that must be formed before the act is committed. It

does not require deliberation or the passage of any particular period of

time.

[A person is sentenced to a term in a state prison if he or she is

(sentenced to confinement in <insert name of institution from

Pen. Code, § 5003>/committed to the Department of Corrections and

Rehabilitation[, Division of Juvenile Justice,]) by an order made

according to law[, regardless of both the purpose of the (confinement/

commitment) and the validity of the order directing the (confinement/

commitment), until a judgment of a competent court setting aside the

order becomes final]. [A person may be sentenced to a term in a state

prison even if, at the time of the offense, he or she is confined in a local

correctional institution pending trial or is temporarily outside the prison

walls or boundaries for any permitted purpose, including but not limited

to serving on a work detail.] [However, a prisoner who has been released

on parole is not sentenced to a term in a state prison.]]

New January 2006; Revised February 2013, August 2016, September 2019,

September 2020, March 2022, February 2025, October 2025