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NY · jury_instructions

CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 165.15(12)

THEFT OF SERVICES (Theft from Barbershops, Salons and Beauty Shops)

activein force · 2026-09-25 – presentas-observed

The (specify) count is Theft of Services.

Under our law, a person is guilty of Theft of Services when that person, with intent to avoid payment for services rendered by a barbershop [or salon] [or beauty shop] avoids [or attempts to avoid] such payment by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay, [or by stealth] [or by any misrepresentation of fact which he or she knows to be false].

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 avoid payment for services rendered by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay [or by stealth] [or by any misrepresentation of fact which he or she knows to be false] when that person’s conscious objective or purpose is to avoid payment for services by such means.

Add if appropriate:

A person ATTEMPTS to avoid payment of services by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay [or by stealth] [or by any misrepresentation of fact which he or she knows to be false] when he or she intends to do so and engages in conduct which tends to effect that objective.³

Add if appropriate:

A person KNOWS a misrepresentation of fact is false when he or she is aware that it is false.⁴

______________________

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 services rendered by a barbershop [or salon] [or beauty shop] by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay, [or by stealth] [or by any misrepresentation of fact which he/she knew to be false].

2. That the defendant intended to avoid payment by those means.

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 (Theft from Barbershops, Salons and Beauty Shops) Penal Law § 165.15(12) (Committed on or after December 24, 2018). 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
898bfa286276738c9495ea6962957f24df642425629f7c334bcf425e98cb0cd0
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