CALCRIM No. 916

The defendant is charged [in Count] with assault committed by a

conditional threat to use force.

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

prove that:

1. The defendant willfully threatened to use force on another person

unless that person immediately did an act that the defendant

demanded;

2. The defendant intended to use force immediately to compel the

other person to do the act;

3. The defendant had no right to demand that the other person do

the act;

4. When the defendant made the threat, (he/she) had the present

ability to use force on the other person;

[AND]

5. The defendant placed (himself/herself) in a position to compel

performance of the act (he/she) demanded and took all steps

necessary to carry out (his/her) intention(;/.)

<Give element 6 when instructing on self-defense or defense of another .>

[AND

6. 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 term use force means to touch in a harmful or offensive manner.

The slightest touching can be enough if it is done in a rude or angry

way. It is enough if the touching makes contact with the person,

including through his or her clothing. The touching need not 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).]

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].

New January 2006; Revised February 2025