N.J. Model Criminal Jury Charge, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2

Approved 6/9/14

KILLING A SERVICE ANIMAL OR GUIDE DOG

N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2

(eff. 1/17/14)

Count _____ of this indictment charges the defendant with the crime of killing a service

animal or guide dog.

(Read Appropriate Count of Indictment)

The applicable statute provides, in pertinent part, that:

(a)ny person who recklessly kills a service animal or guide dog, or

who recklessly permits a dog that the person owns or over which the

person has immediate control, to kill a service animal or guide dog

is guilty of a crime.

In order for you to find the defendant guilty, the State must prove the following elements

beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. that the animal was a service animal or guide dog;

2. that the defendant [CHOOSE APPLICABLE ALTERNATIVE] killed the animal

OR permitted a dog he/she owned or over which he/she had immediate control to kill

the animal; and

3. that the defendant acted recklessly.

The first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the animal was a

service animal or guide dog.

“Service animal”1 means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for

the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,

or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained,

are not service animals. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to

the individual’s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting

1 N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2e defines “service animal” with the same meaning as set forth in the federal

“Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and any regulations under the act. See

also 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (2013).

KILLING A SERVICE ANIMAL OR GUIDE DOG

N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2

individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals

who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection

or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to

the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical

support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and

helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive

or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal’s presence and the provision of

emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the

purposes of this definition.

“Guide dog”

2 means a dog which has been or is being raised or trained to provide assistance

to a blind or deaf person, including but not limited to a dog that has been or is being raised or trained

by a volunteer puppy raiser or staff member of an organization generally recognized as being

involved in the rehabilitation of the blind or deaf and reputable and competent to provide dogs with

specialized training.

The second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant

[CHOOSE APPLICABLE ALTERNATIVE] killed the animal OR permitted a dog he/she owned

or over which he/she had immediate control to kill the animal.

The third element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant

acted recklessly.

A person acts recklessly with respect to the result of his/her conduct if he/she consciously

disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur from his/her conduct. The

risk must be of such a nat ure and degree that, considering the nature and purpose of the actor’s

conduct and the circumstances known to the actor, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the

standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation. One is said to

act recklessly if one acts with recklessness, with scorn for the consequences, heedlessly, fool-hardily.

2 See N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2e.

KILLING A SERVICE ANIMAL OR GUIDE DOG

N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3.2

In other words, you must find that the defendant was aware of and consciously disregarded

the risk of causing the death of a service an imal or guide dog. If you find that the defendant was

aware of and disregarded the risk of causing the death of a service animal or guide dog, you must

determine whether the risk that he/she disregarded was substantial and unjustifiable. In doing so,

you must consider the nature and purpose of the defendant’s conduct, and the circumstances known

to the defendant, and you must determine whether, in light of those factors, the defendant’s disregard

of that risk was a gross deviation from the conduct a reasonable person would have observed in the

defendant’s situation.

If you find that the State has proven every element of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt,

then you must find the defendant guilty. If, however, you find that the State has failed to prove any

element of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty.