Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 6.10-2

The defendant is charged [in count__] with intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second

degree. The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:

a person is guilty of intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree when

such person maliciously, and with specific intent to intimidate or harass another

person motivated in whole or in substantial part by the actual or perceived (race /

religion / ethnicity / disability / sex / sexual orientation / gender identity or

expression) of such other person or group of persons <insert appropriate

subsection:>

• § 53a-181k (a) (1): causes physical contact with such other person or group of persons.

• § 53a-181k (a) (2): damages, destroys or defaces any real or personal property of such

other person or group of persons.

• § 53a-181k (a) (3): threatens, by word or act, to (cause physical contact / damage,

destroy or deface any real or personal property), if there is reasonable cause to believe

that the (physical contact / property damage) will occur.

For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove the following elements

beyond a reasonable doubt:

Element 1 - Intent

The first element is that the defendant acted maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate

or harass (another person / a group of persons) motivated in whole or in substantial part by

1 that

(person’s / group’s) actual or perceived (race / religion / ethnicity / disability / sex / sexual

orientation / gender identity or expression). The state must prove not only that the defendant had

the specific intent to intimidate or harass <insert name(s) of complainant(s)> but that (he/she)

did so motivated in whole or in substantial part by (his / her / their) actual or perceived (race /

religion / ethnicity / disability / sex / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression).

To act “with malice” means to act with some improper or unjustifiable or harmful motive

including, but not limited to, the desire to cause pain, injury or distress to another.

A person acts “intentionally” with respect to a result when (his/her) conscious objective is to

cause such result. <See Intent: Specific, Instruction 2.3-1.>

The state need not prove that <insert name(s) of complainant(s)> (was / were) actually of a

certain (race / religion / ethnicity / disability / sex / sexual orientation / gender identity or

expression). It is sufficient for the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant

perceived <insert name(s) of complainant(s)> to be of a certain (race / religion / ethnicity /

disability / sex / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression).

[<Insert appropriate definition(s):>

• “Disability” means (physical disability / mental disability / intellectual disability2).

o “Physical disability” means any chronic physical handicap, infirmity or impairment,

whether congenital or resulting from bodily injury, organic processes or changes or

from illness, including, but not limited to, blindness, epilepsy, deafness or hearing

impairment or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device.

o “Mental disability” means one or more mental disorders, as defined in the most recent

edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

of Mental Disorders.

o “Intellectual disability” means a significantly subaverage general intellectual

functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested

during the developmental period. “General intellectual functioning” means the

results obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered

general intelligence tests developed for that purpose and standardized on a

significantly adequate population and administered by a person or persons formally

trained in test administration; “significantly subaverage” means an intelligence

quotient more than two standard deviations below the mean for the test; “adaptive

behavior” means the effectiveness or degree with which an individual meets the

standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for the

individual’s age and cultural group; and “developmental period” means the period of

time between birth and the eighteenth birthday.

• “Sexual orientation” means having a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality or

bisexuality, having a history of such preference or being identified with such preference.

• “Gender identity or expression” means a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or

behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different

from that traditionally associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.]

Element 2 - Physical Contact / Property Damage

The second element is that the defendant <insert as appropriate:>

• caused physical contact with <insert name(s) of complainant(s)>.

• damaged, destroyed or defaced any real or personal property of <insert name(s)

of complainant(s)>. “Real property” means real estate or land.

• threatened, by word or act, to (cause physical contact with <insert name(s) of

complainant(s)> / to damage, destroy or deface any real or personal property of <insert

name(s) of complainant(s)>), if there is reasonable cause to believe that such act will

occur. Note that it does not have to be a verbal threat but it can be an act. Also, the

(physical contact / property damage) does not have to have occurred. It is only

necessary that there was reasonable cause to believe that it would occur. “Reasonable

cause” means whether an ordinary person in the same circumstances would believe that

it would occur.

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant 1) acted

maliciously and with specific intent to intimidate or harass <insert name(s) of complainant(s)>

motivated in whole or in substantial part by (his/her/their) actual or perceived (race / religion /

ethnicity / disability / sex / sexual orientation / gender identity or expression) and 2) <insert

specific allegations re physical contact or property damage>.

If you unanimously find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements

of the crime of intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree, then you shall find the

defendant guilty. On the other hand, if you unanimously find that the state has failed to prove

beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the defendant not guilty.

1 Public Acts 2021, No. 21-78, § 18, replaced the phrase “because of” with “motivated in whole

or in substantial part by,” effective October 1, 2021.

2 Public Acts 2011, No. 11-129, § 20, replaced the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual

disability,” effective October 1, 2011.

3 General Statutes § 46a-81a.