NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 215.50(5)
CRIMINAL CONTEMPT IN THE SECOND DEGREE (False or Inaccurate Reporting of Court Proceedings)
The (specify) count is Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree.
Under our law, a person is guilty of criminal contempt in the second degree when he or she engages in the following conduct: knowingly publishing a false or grossly inaccurate report of a court's proceedings.
The following term used in that definition has a special meaning:
A person KNOWINGLY publishes a false or grossly inaccurate report of a court's proceedings when that person is aware that he or she is doing so.
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 elements:
1. That on or about (date) in the county of (specify), the defendant, (defendant’s name), published a false or grossly inaccurate report of a court's proceedings.
2. That the defendant did so knowingly.
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: CRIMINAL CONTEMPT IN THE SECOND DEGREE (False or Inaccurate Reporting of Court Proceedings) Penal Law § 215.50(5) (Committed on or after Sept. 1, 1972). 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
9a0cf440dc567beec800e303ba657c0ded74d39e25230c02cf916fd02fefe1ab
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