NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law § 265.15 (4)
PRESUMPTION OF UNLAWFUL INTENT
Under our law, the possession by any person of any Select appropriate alternative:
dagger,
dirk,
stiletto,
dangerous knife
or any (other) weapon, instrument, appliance or substance designed,
made or adapted for use primarily as a weapon,
is presumptive evidence of intent to use the same unlawfully against another. What that means is that, if the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant possessed (specify), then you may, but you are not required to, infer from that fact that he/she did so with the intent to use the same unlawfully against another.¹ Whether or not to draw that inference is for you to decide and will depend entirely on your evaluation of the evidence.²
History
Caption: PRESUMPTION OF UNLAWFUL INTENT Penal Law § 265.15 (4). 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
a95d8801b718b98dd90218126f5473cc3aefd363f399ef13eda7f1a6e501a3ac
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