CALCRIM No. 947

243.10)

The defendant is charged [in Count] with battery against a

member of the United States Armed Forces [in violation of Penal Code

section 243.10].

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

prove that:

1. The defendant willfully [and unlawfully] touched

<insert name of complaining witness> in a harmful or offensive

manner;

2. <insert name of complaining witness> was a member

of the United States Armed Forces at the time of the touching;

[AND]

3. The defendant knew <insert name of complaining

witness> was a member of the United States Armed Forces and

touched <insert name of complaining witness> in a

harmful or offensive manner because of <insert

name of complaining witness>’s service(;/.)

<Give element 4 when instructing on self-defense or defense of another .>

[AND

4. 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 slightest touching can be enough to commit a battery 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).]

A <insert description, e.g., “private in the United States

Army”> is a member of the United States Armed Forces.

A person commits a battery because of someone’s service in the armed

forces if:

1. He or she is biased against the person battered based on that

person’s military service;

AND

2. That bias caused him or her to commit the alleged battery.

If the defendant had more than one reason to commit the alleged

battery, the bias described here must have been a substantial motivating

factor. A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor.

However, it does not need to be the only factor that motivated the

battery.

New January 2006; Revised March 2017, February 2025