CALCRIM No. 820

The defendant is charged [in Count] with killing a child under

the age of 8 by assaulting the child with force likely to produce great

bodily injury [in violation of Penal Code section 273ab(a)].

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

prove that:

1. The defendant had care or custody of a child who was under the

age of 8;

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

probably result in the application of force to the child;

3. The defendant did that act willfully;

4. The force used was likely to produce great bodily injury;

5. 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 great bodily injury to the

child;

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

apply force likely to produce great bodily injury to the child;

[AND]

7. The defendant’s act caused the child’s death(;/.)

<Give element 8 when instructing on parental right to discipline>

[AND

8. When the defendant acted, (he/she) was not reasonably

disciplining a child.]

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

purpose. It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt

someone else, or gain any advantage.

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

an injury that is greater than moderate harm.

An act causes death if:

1. The death was the natural and probable consequence of the act;

2. The act was a direct and substantial factor in causing the death;

AND

3. The death would not have happened without the act.

A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person

would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In

deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of

the circumstances established by the evidence.

A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor. However, it

does not need to be the only factor that caused the death.

[Under the law, a person becomes one year older as soon as the first

minute of his or her birthday has begun.]

New January 2006; Revised February 2014, September 2020, October 2025