Assault in the Second Degree Lawyer in Westchester County — Westchester County Court

Definition under New York law

PL 120.05 · Original statutory wording; excerpts must be read together with the full section.

§ 120.05 Assault in the second degree. A person is guilty of assault in the second degree when: 1. With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or 2. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or 3. With intent to prevent a peace officer, a police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, a firefighter, including a firefighter acting as a paramedic or emergency medical technician administering first aid in the course of performance of duty as such firefighter, an emergency medical service paramedic or emergency medical service technician, or medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency department, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of any entity governed by the public service law in the course of performing an essential service, from performing a lawful duty, by means including releasing or failing to control an animal under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the lawful activity of such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter, paramedic, technician, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public service law, he or she causes physical injury to such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter, paramedic, technician or medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency department, city marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public service law; or 3-a. With intent to prevent an employee of a local social services district directly involved in investigation of or response to alleged abuse or neglect of a child, a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person, from performing such investigation or response, the actor, not being such child, vulnerable elderly person or incompetent or physically disabled person, or with intent to prevent an employee of a local social services district directly involved in providing public assistance and care from performing his or her job, causes physical injury to such employee including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the lawful activities of such employee; or 3-b. With intent to prevent an employee of the New York city housing authority from performing his or her lawful duties while located on housing project grounds, real property, or a building owned, managed, or operated by such authority he or she causes physical injury to such employee; or 3-c. With intent to prevent an employee providing direct patient care, who is not a nurse pursuant to title eight of the education law, whose principal employment responsibility is to carry out direct patient care for one or more patients in any hospital, nursing home, residential health care facility, general hospital, government agency including any chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, outpatient department, emergency center or surgical center under article twenty-eight of the public health law, from performing a lawful duty, he or she causes physical injury to such employee providing direct patient care; or 4. He recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or 4-a. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person who is a child under the age of eighteen by intentional discharge of a firearm, rifle or shotgun; or 5. For a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment, he intentionally causes stupor, unconsciousness or other physical impairment or injury to another person by administering to him, without his consent, a drug, substance or preparation capable of producing the same; or 6. In the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted commission of a felony, other than a felony defined in article one hundred thirty which requires corroboration for conviction, or of immediate flight therefrom, he, or another participant if there be any, causes physical injury to a person other than one of the participants; or 7. Having been charged with or convicted of a crime and while confined in a correctional facility, as defined in subdivision three of section forty of the correction law, pursuant to such charge or conviction, with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or 8. Being eighteen years old or more and with intent to cause physical injury to a person less than eleven years old, the defendant recklessly causes serious physical injury to such person; or 9. Being eighteen years old or more and with intent to cause physical injury to a person less than seven years old, the defendant causes such injury to such person; or 10. Acting at a place the person knows, or reasonably should know, is on school grounds and with intent to cause physical injury, he or she: (a) causes such injury to an employee of a school or public school district; or (b) not being a student of such school or public school district, causes physical injury to another, and such other person is a student of such school who is attending or present for educational purposes. For purposes of this subdivision the term "school grounds" shall have the meaning set forth in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this chapter; or 11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train operator, ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue payment media for use on a train, bus, or ferry the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel, employed by any transit or commuter rail agency, authority or company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, emergency medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician, he or she causes physical injury to such train operator, ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment media for use on a train, bus, or ferry or the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician, while such employee is performing an assigned duty on, or directly related to, the operation of a train or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, assisting customers, checking traffic, the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue media for use on a train, bus, or ferry or maintenance or cleaning of a train, a bus, a ferry, or bus station or terminal, signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard or revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or such city marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician is performing an assigned duty; or 11-a. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee of a local social services district directly involved in investigation of or response to alleged abuse or neglect of a child, vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person, the actor, not being such child, vulnerable elderly person or incompetent or physically disabled person, or with intent to prevent an employee of a local social services district directly involved in providing public assistance and care from performing his or her job, causes physical injury to such employee; or 11-b. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee of the New York city housing authority performing his or her lawful duties while located on housing project grounds, real property, or a building owned, managed, or operated by such authority he or she causes physical injury to such employee; or 11-c. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee providing direct patient care, who is not a nurse pursuant to title eight of the education law, whose principal employment responsibility is to carry out direct patient care for one or more patients in any hospital, nursing home, residential health care facility, general hospital, government agency including any chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, outpatient department, emergency center or surgical center under article twenty-eight of the public health law, he or she causes physical injury to such employee providing direct patient care while such employee is performing a lawful duty; or 12. With intent to cause physical injury to a person who is sixty-five years of age or older, he or she causes such injury to such person, and the actor is more than ten years younger than such person; or 13. Being confined to a secure treatment facility, as such term is defined in subdivision (o) of section 10.03 of the mental hygiene law, and with intent to cause physical injury to an employee of such secure treatment facility performing his or her duties, he or she causes such injury to such person; or 14. With intent to prevent or obstruct a process server, as defined in section eighty-nine-t of the general business law, from performing a lawful duty pursuant to article three of the civil practice law and rules, or intentionally, as retaliation against such a process server for the performance of the process server's duties pursuant to such article, including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal evincing the actor's intent that the animal prevent or obstruct the lawful duty of the process server or as retaliation against the process server, he or she causes physical injury to such process server. Assault in the second degree is a class D felony.

In everyday language

Second-degree assault has numerous alternative forms involving different mental states, injury levels, weapons, ages, employment duties, confinement, or an underlying felony. The prosecutor must prove every requirement of the applicable alternative beyond a reasonable doubt; the statute does not require all alternatives together.

At a criminal trial, the prosecutor must prove every element of the charged subsection and that you committed the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. An accusation is not proof of guilt. Where the statute provides alternatives, the prosecutor need not prove every alternative; the charged theory matters. Affirmative defenses may have different proof rules.