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6.7-3 Stalking in the Third Degree -- § 53a-181e
Revised to December 1, 2007
The defendant is charged [in count __] with stalking in the third degree. The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:
a person is guilty of stalking in the third degree when (he/she) recklessly causes another person to reasonably fear for (his/her) physical safety by wilfully and repeatedly following or lying in wait for such other person.
For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
Element 1 - Recklessly
caused fear
The first element is that the
defendant recklessly caused <insert name of person> to reasonably fear
for (his/her) physical safety. A person acts "recklessly"
with respect to a result or circumstances when (he/she) is aware of and
consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result
will occur or that such circumstances exist. <See
Recklessness, Instruction 2.3-4.>
"Fear for (his/her) physical safety" means that (he/she) feared that bodily harm could come to (him/her). Determining whether this element is satisfied requires a two step process. First, the situation and the facts must be viewed from the viewpoint of <insert name of person>. Did (he/she) in fact fear for (his/her) physical safety? If the answer to that question is no, you must find the defendant not guilty. If the answer to that question is yes, you must then ask whether that fear was reasonable. You must answer that question from the viewpoint of a reasonable person under the circumstances at the time. You must ask yourself whether under all the circumstances then present, was the fear reasonable?1
Element 2 - Followed or lay in
wait
The second element is that the
defendant followed or lay in wait for <insert name of person>.
"Following" implies proximity in space as well as time. Whether someone has
deliberately maintained sufficient visual or physical proximity with another
person, uninterrupted, over a substantial enough period of time to constitute
"following" will depend upon a variety of differing factors in each case.2
Element 3 - Wilfullness
The third element is that the
defendant acted wilfully. To act "wilfully" means to act intentionally or
deliberately.
Element 4 - Repeatedly
The fourth element is that the
defendant acted repeatedly. Acting "repeatedly" means acting on more than one
occasion. An isolated act of following or lying in wait cannot constitute
stalking.3
Conclusion
In summary, the state must prove prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 1) the defendant recklessly caused <insert name of person> to fear for (his/her) safety, 2) the defendant followed or lay in wait for <insert name of person>, 3) the defendant acted wilfully, and 4) the defendant acted repeatedly.
If you unanimously find that the state
has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of the crime of
stalking in the third degree, then you shall find the defendant guilty. On the
other hand, if you unanimously find that the state has failed to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the defendant not
guilty.
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1 State v. Cummings, 46 Conn. App. 661, 678 n.12, cert. denied, 243 Conn. 940 (1997).
2 State v. Marsala, 44 Conn. App. 84, 98, cert. denied, 240 Conn. 912 (1997).
3
State v. Jackson, 56 Conn. App. 264, 273, cert. denied, 242 Conn. 938
(2000); State v. Cummings, supra, 46 Conn. App. 679 n.13.