CALCRIM No. 863

Deadly Weapon or Force Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury

(Pen. Code, §§ 240, 245, 245.2)

The defendant is charged [in Count] with assault with (force

likely to produce great bodily injury/a deadly weapon) on (a/an)

(operator/driver/station agent/ticket agent/passenger) of (a/an)

<insert name of vehicle or transportation entity specified in

Pen. Code, § 245.2> [in violation of Penal Code section 245.2].

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

prove that:

<Alternative 1A—force with weapon>

[1. The defendant willfully 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>

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

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

1B. 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;

<Alternative 5A—transportation personnel>

[5. When the defendant acted, the person assaulted was performing

(his/her) duties as (a/an) (operator/driver/station agent/ticket

agent) of (a/an) <insert name of vehicle or

transportation entity specified in Pen. Code, § 245.2>;]

<Alternative 5B—passenger>

[5. The person assaulted was a passenger of (a/an)

<insert name of vehicle or transportation entity specified in Pen.

Code, § 245.2>;]

[AND]

6. When the defendant acted, (he/she) knew, or reasonably should

have known, [both] that the person assaulted was (a/an)

(operator/driver/station agent/ticket agent/passenger) of (a/an)

<insert name of vehicle or transportation entity

specified in Pen. Code, § 245.2> [and that (he/she) was performing

(his/her) duties](;/.)

<Give element 7 when instructing on self-defense or defense of another .>

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

someone else, or gain any advantage.

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.]

The People are not required to prove that the defendant actually

intended to use force against someone when (he/she) acted.

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].

[Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to assault.]

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

an injury that is greater than moderate harm.]

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

deadly 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.]

CALCRIM No. 863 ASSAULTIVE AND BATTERY CRIMES

[The term[s] (great bodily injury/ [and] deadly weapon) (is/are) defined in

another instruction to which you should refer.]

New January 2006; Revised February 2013, September 2019, September 2020,

March 2022, February 2025, October 2025