NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 165.15(3) (Avoiding Payment For Transportation Services Rendered)
THEFT OF SERVICES (Avoiding Payment For Transportation Services)
The (specify) count is Theft of Services.
Under our law, a person is guilty of Theft of Services when, with intent to obtain railroad [or subway] [or bus] [or air] [or taxi] [or (any other) public transportation] service without payment of the lawful charge for such service or to avoid payment of the lawful charge for such transportation service which has been rendered to him, that person avoids [or attempts to avoid] payment therefor by force [or intimidation] [or stealth] [or deception] [or mechanical tampering] [or by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay].
The following terms used in that definition have a special meaning:
INTENT means conscious objective or purpose.² Thus, a person acts with intent to obtain railroad [or subway] [or bus] [or air] [or taxi] [or public transportation] service without payment of the lawful charge for such service or to avoid payment of the lawful charge for such transportation service which has been rendered to him when that person's conscious objective or purpose is to do so.
[A person ATTEMPTS to avoid payment of the lawful charge for a transportation service by force [or intimidation] [or stealth] [or deception] [or mechanical tampering] [or by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay] when he or she intends to do so and engages in conduct which tends to effect that objective.³]
In order for you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, the People are required to prove, from all the evidence in the case, beyond a reasonable doubt, both of the following two elements:
1. That on or about (date) , in the county of (county) , the defendant, (defendant's name) , avoided [or attempted to avoid] payment for railroad [or subway] [or bus] [or air] [or taxi] [or (any other) public transportation] service which had been rendered to him; and
2. That the defendant did so with intent to avoid payment of the lawful charge for such transportation service.
If you find the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt both of those elements, you must find the defendant guilty of this crime.
If you find the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt either one or both of those elements, you must find the defendant not guilty of this crime.
History
Caption: THEFT OF SERVICES (Avoiding Payment For Transportation Services) PENAL LAW 165.15(3) (Committed on or after Sept. 1, 1967). Read from the committee's Word file. Prepared by the New York State Unified Court System Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, Model Colloquies, and Evidence Rules; published by the Unified Court System at nycourts.gov (the internet edition is the only current and official publication of CJI2d).
Provenance
- Source
- nycourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
fffcf0024a68427f4d447f2a1fc97789a08c44674a2ddf0e91ae325ccaca45d1
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