California Penal Code
California law |
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Note: There are 29 California codes. |
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The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of most
History
The Penal Code enacted by the California State Legislature in February 1872 was derived from a penal code proposed by the New York code commission in 1865 which is frequently called the Field Penal Code after the most prominent of the code commissioners, David Dudley Field II (who did draft the commission's other proposed codes).[2] The actual drafter of the New York penal code was commissioner William Curtis Noyes, a former prosecutor.[2] New York belatedly enacted the Field Penal Code in 1881.
Prior to the promulgation of the
Organization
Like most of California's codes, the Penal Code is divided into parts, with the Penal Code containing six,[3] most of which contain titles, some of which are in turn subdivided into chapters, with individual sections comprising the smallest unit of content. Unlike sections of the United States Code, any particular provision of the Penal Code is usually referenced by its section number alone, especially when a police officer in the state refers to a particular criminal act over their radio. Most of this article deals exclusively with the substantive criminal law set out in Part 1.
The first two titles of Part 1, up to Section 33, are preliminary and provide definitions of legal terms rather than definitions of, or punishments for, any specific crimes. The next group of titles, through Section 88, deal with crimes against the state itself, such as
Part 2 of the Penal Code (Sections 681–1020) codifies the state's criminal procedure system.
Part 3 of the Penal Code (Sections 2000–10007) codifies statutes governing the state's
Part 4 of the Penal Code (Sections 11006–14315) codifies statutes governing criminal investigations, prison officer training, police officer training, crime control, crime prevention, and gun control.
Part 5 of the Penal Code (Sections 15001–15003) consists of only two sections authorizing the California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation to establish and maintain a memorial to peace officers on the grounds of the state Capitol with private funds.
Part 6 of the Penal Code (Sections 16000–34370) codifies statutes dealing with the management of weapons.
California's drug laws are not found within the
.Notable section numbers
- 148 – Resisting/obstructing a police officer
- 187 – Murder
- 192 – Manslaughter
- 203 – Mayhem
- 207 – Kidnapping
- 211 – Robbery
- 215 – Carjacking
- 219 – Train wrecking (see, e.g. 2005 Glendale train crash)
- 236–237 – False imprisonment
- 240 – Assault
- 242 – Battery
- 245 – Assault with a deadly weapon (ADW, sometimes "great bodily injury," GBI) or with force likely to produce great bodily injury
- 261 – Rape
- 280 – Child abduction
- 285 – Incest
- 288 – Child molestation
- 314 – Indecent exposure
- 368 – Crimes Against Elders and Dependent Adults
- 415 – Disturbing the peace/mutual combat
- 417 – Brandishing a firearm
- 422 – Criminal threats
- 451 – Arson
- 459 – Burglary
- 470 – Forgery
- 484 – Theft or larceny
- 487 – Grand theft
- 488 – Petty theft
- 487 – Grand theft auto
- 496 – Receiving stolen property
- 503–515 – Embezzlement
- 518–527 – Extortion
- 528–539 – False personation and cheats
- 594 – Malicious mischief/vandalism
- 597 – Animal cruelty
- 602 – Trespassing
- 647(b) – Prostitution
- 647(f) – Public drunkenness or public intoxication
- 664 – Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above like 187 or 211; attempted murder was formerly covered in its own section, 217)
- 691 – Extortion
"420" for marijuana use is commonly but incorrectly believed to originate from the Penal Code.[4] The actual Section 420 covers obstructing entry on public land.
One of the more controversial sections of the California Penal Code are the consecutive Sections 666 and 667; Section 666, known officially as petty theft with a prior – and colloquially,
The inclusion of
See also
References
- ^ https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=PEN
- ^ a b c d Kadish, Sanford H. (1987). "The Model Penal Code's Historical Antecedents" (PDF). Rutgers Law Journal. 19: 521–538.
- ^ "The Penal Code of California". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "The Origins of 420 | Snopes.com".