CA · jury_instructions
CALCRIM No. 831
Abuse of Elder or Dependent Adult (Pen. Code, § 368(c))
The defendant is charged [in Count] with (elder/dependent adult)
abuse [in violation of Penal Code section 368(c)].
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must
prove that:
<Alternative 1A—inflicted pain>
[1. The defendant willfully inflicted unjustifiable physical pain or
mental suffering on <insert name or description of
elder or dependent adult>;]
<Alternative 1B—caused or permitted to suffer pain>
[1. The defendant allowed someone, whose conduct the defendant
had a duty to supervise and control, to inflict unjustifiable
physical pain or mental suffering on <insert name or
description of elder or dependent adult>;]
<Alternative 1C—while having custody, caused or permitted to be
injured>
[1. The defendant, while having care or custody of
<insert name or description of elder or dependent adult>, willfully
caused or permitted that person or (his/her) health to be injured;]
<Alternative 1D—while having custody, caused or permitted to be placed
in danger>
[1. The defendant, while having care or custody of
<insert name or description of elder or dependent adult>, willfully
caused or permitted that person to be placed in a situation where
(his/her) person or health was endangered;]
2. <insert name or description of elder or dependent
adult> (is/was) (an elder/a dependent adult);
[AND]
3. When the defendant acted, (he/she) knew or reasonably should
have known that <insert name or description of elder
or dependent adult> was (an elder/a dependent adult)(;/.)
<Give element 4 when giving alternative 1B and it is alleged the
defendant permitted the suffering.>
[AND]
[4. The defendant had a legal duty to supervise and control the
conduct of the person[s] who caused or inflicted unjustifiable
physical pain or mental suffering on <insert name or
description of elder or dependent adult>, but failed to supervise or
control that conduct(;/.)]
<Give element 5 when giving alternative 1B, 1C, or 1D.>
[AND
(4/5). The defendant was criminally negligent when (he/she) caused or
permitted <insert name or description of elder or
dependent adult> to (suffer[,]/ [or] be injured[,]/ [or] be
endangered).]
Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on
purpose.
[An elder is someone who is at least 65 years old.]
[A dependent adult is someone who is between 18 and 64 years old and
has physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to carry
out normal activities or to protect his or her rights. [This definition
includes an adult who has physical or developmental disabilities or
whose physical or mental abilities have decreased because of age.] [A
dependent adult is also someone between 18 and 64 years old who is an
inpatient in a (health facility/psychiatric health facility/ [or] chemical
dependency recovery hospital).]
[Unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering is pain or suffering that
is not reasonably necessary or is excessive under the circumstances.]
[A person who does not have care or custody of (an elder/a dependent
adult) may still have a legal duty to supervise and control the conduct of a
third person who can inflict abuse on the (elder/dependent adult) if the
person has a special relationship with the third person. A special
relationship is created, for example, when (1) a person takes charge of a
third person whom (he/she) knows or should know is likely to cause
bodily harm to others if not controlled, and (2) the person has the ability
to control the third person’s conduct.]
[Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness,
inattention, or mistake in judgment. A person acts with criminal
negligence when:
1. He or she acts in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death
or great bodily harm;
AND
2. A reasonable person would have known that acting in that way
would create such a risk.
In other words, a person acts with criminal negligence when the way he
ASSAULTIVE AND BATTERY CRIMES CALCRIM No. 831
or she acts is so different from the way an ordinarily careful person
would act in the same situation that his or her act amounts to disregard
for human life or indifference to the consequences of that act.]
[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
Provenance
- Source
- courts.ca.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- calcrim-2026
- Content hash
c4a3979c70b0f2ad6a5b1862f18296456aacf6361c8396e12b4a60e7ee255e73
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