NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 240.10
UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY
The (specify) count is Unlawful Assembly.
Under our law, a person is guilty of Unlawful Assembly when he or she assembles with four or more other persons
for the purpose of engaging or preparing to engage with them in imminent¹ tumultuous and violent conduct likely to cause public alarm, or
when, being present at an assembly which either has or develops such purpose, he or she remains there with intent to advance that purpose.
The following term used in that definition has a special meaning:
Select appropriate alternative(s):
FOR THE PURPOSE refers to a person’s conscious objective or purpose. Thus, a person acts for the purpose of engaging or preparing to engage in imminent tumultuous and violent conduct likely to cause public alarm when that person’s conscious objective or purpose is to do so.²
INTENT similarly means conscious objective or purpose.
Thus, a person acts with intent to advance the purpose of engaging or preparing to engage with others in imminent tumultuous and violent cnduct likely to cause public alarm when that person's conscious objective or purpose is to do so.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, the following element:
That on or about (date) , in the County of (County) , the defendant, (defendant's name)⁴
Select appropriate alternative(s):
assembled with four or more other persons for the purpose of engaging or preparing to engage with them in imminent tumultuous and violent conduct likely to cause public alarm,
[or]
being present at an assembly of four or more other persons which either has or develops the purpose of engaging or preparing to engage with them in imminent tumultuous and violent conduct likely to cause public alarm, he/she remained there with intent to advance that purpose.
If you find the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that element, you must find the defendant guilty of this crime.
If you find the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that element, you must find the defendant not guilty of this crime.
History
Caption: UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY Penal Law § 240.10 (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
d9aad612bed84d3436eb9f7f52d0d666a2ae1d22cb318c1b53dc719ecb5f6f61
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