Penal Code 148/69 Resisting Arrest
148. (a) (1) Every person who willfully resists, delays, or obstructs any public
officer, peace officer, or an emergency medical technician, as defined in Division 2.5
(commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code, in the discharge or
attempt to discharge any duty of his or her office or employment, when no other
punishment is prescribed, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by
both that fine and imprisonment.
Penal Code 187 Murder and Attempted Murder in California
187. (a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice
aforethought.
(b) This section shall not apply to any person who commits an act that results in
the death of a fetus if any of the following apply:
(1) The act complied with the Therapeutic Abortion Act, Article 2 (commencing
with Section 123400) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety
Code.
(2) The act was committed by a holder of a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate,
as defined in the Business and Professions Code, in a case where, to a medical
certainty, the result of childbirth would be death of the mother of the fetus or where
her death from childbirth, although not medically certain, would be substantially
certain or more likely than not.
(3) The act was solicited, aided, abetted, or consented to by the mother of the fetus.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall not be construed to prohibit the prosecution of any person
under any other provision of law.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1023, Sec. 385. Effective September 29, 1996.)
Penal Code 192 Voluntary/Involuntary Manslaughter
192. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. It is of
three kinds:
(a) Voluntary—upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion.
(b) Involuntary—in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony;
or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful
manner, or without due caution and circumspection. This subdivision shall not apply
to acts committed in the driving of a vehicle.
(c) Vehicular—
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 191.5, driving a vehicle in the
commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, and with gross negligence;
or driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in
an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence.
(2) Driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a
felony, but without gross negligence; or driving a vehicle in the commission of a
lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, but without gross
negligence.
(3) Driving a vehicle in connection with a violation of paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) of Section 550, where the vehicular collision or vehicular accident was knowingly
caused for financial gain and proximately resulted in the death of any person. This
paragraph does not prevent prosecution of a defendant for the crime of murder.
(d) This section shall not be construed as making any homicide in the driving of
a vehicle punishable that is not a proximate result of the commission of an unlawful
act, not amounting to a felony, or of the commission of a lawful act which might
produce death, in an unlawful manner.
(e) “Gross negligence,” as used in this section, does not prohibit or preclude a
charge of murder under Section 188 upon facts exhibiting wantonness and a conscious
disregard for life to support a finding of implied malice, or upon facts showing malice,
consistent with the holding of the California Supreme Court in People v. Watson
(1981) 30 Cal.3d 290.
(f) (1) For purposes of determining sudden quarrel or heat of passion pursuant to
subdivision (a), the provocation was not objectively reasonable if it resulted from the
discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim’s actual or
perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including
under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or
sexual advance towards the defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a
romantic or sexual relationship. Nothing in this section shall preclude the jury from
considering all relevant facts to determine whether the defendant was in fact provoked
for purposes of establishing subjective provocation.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “gender” includes a person’s gender identity
and gender-related appearance and behavior regardless of whether that appearance
or behavior is associated with the person’s gender as determined at birth.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 684, Sec. 1. (AB 2501) Effective January 1, 2015.)
Penal Code 207 Kidnapping
207. (a) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals
or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in this state, and carries the person
into another country, state, or county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty
of kidnapping.
(b) Every person, who for the purpose of committing any act defined in Section
288, hires, persuades, entices, decoys, or seduces by false promises, misrepresentations,
or the like, any child under the age of 14 years to go out of this country, state, or
county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping.
(c) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, takes or
holds, detains, or arrests any person, with a design to take the person out of this state,
without having established a claim, according to the laws of the United States, or of
this state, or who hires, persuades, entices, decoys, or seduces by false promises,
misrepresentations, or the like, any person to go out of this state, or to be taken or
removed therefrom, for the purpose and with the intent to sell that person into slavery
or involuntary servitude, or otherwise to employ that person for his or her own use,
or to the use of another, without the free will and consent of that persuaded person,
is guilty of kidnapping.
(d) Every person who, being out of this state, abducts or takes by force or fraud
any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed, and brings,
sends, or conveys that person within the limits of this state, and is afterwards found
within the limits thereof, is guilty of kidnapping.
(e) For purposes of those types of kidnapping requiring force, the amount of force
required to kidnap an unresisting infant or child is the amount of physical force
required to take and carry the child away a substantial distance for an illegal purpose
or with an illegal intent.
(f) Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to any of the following:
(1) To any person who steals, takes, entices away, detains, conceals, or harbors
any child under the age of 14 years, if that act is taken to protect the child from danger
of imminent harm.
(2) To any person acting under Section 834 or 837.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)
Penal Code 211 Robbery
211. Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another,
from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means
of force or fear.
(Enacted 1872.)
Penal Code 215 Carjacking
215. (a) “Carjacking” is the felonious taking of a motor vehicle in the possession
of another, from his or her person or immediate presence, or from the person or
immediate presence of a passenger of the motor vehicle, against his or her will and
with the intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person in possession
of the motor vehicle of his or her possession, accomplished by means of force or fear.
(b) Carjacking is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of three,
five, or nine years.
(c) This section shall not be construed to supersede or affect Section 211. A person
may be charged with a violation of this section and Section 211. However, no defendant
may be punished under this section and Section 211 for the same act which constitutes
a violation of both this section and Section 211.
(Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 611, Sec. 6. Effective October 1, 1993.)
Penal Code 245 Assault
245. (a) (1) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with
a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm shall be punished by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding
one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the
fine and imprisonment.
(2) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a firearm
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or
in a county jail for not less than six months and not exceeding one year, or by both a
fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and imprisonment.
(3) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a
machinegun, as defined in Section 16880, or an assault weapon, as defined in Section
30510 or 30515, or a .50 BMG rifle, as defined in Section 30530, shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for 4, 8, or 12 years.
(4) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another by any means
of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in
the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one
year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine
and imprisonment.
(b) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a
semiautomatic firearm shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or nine years.
(c) Any person who commits an assault with a deadly weapon or instrument, other
than a firearm, or by any means likely to produce great bodily injury upon the person
of a peace officer or firefighter, and who knows or reasonably should know that the
victim is a peace officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
when the peace officer or firefighter is engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or five years.
(d) (1) Any person who commits an assault with a firearm upon the person of a
peace officer or firefighter, and who knows or reasonably should know that the victim
is a peace officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties, when
the peace officer or firefighter is engaged in the performance of his or her duties, shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for four, six, or eight years.
(2) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of a peace officer or
firefighter with a semiautomatic firearm and who knows or reasonably should know
that the victim is a peace officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or
her duties, when the peace officer or firefighter is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for five, seven,
or nine years.
(3) Any person who commits an assault with a machinegun, as defined in Section
16880, or an assault weapon, as defined in Section 30510 or 30515, or a .50 BMG
rifle, as defined in Section 30530, upon the person of a peace officer or firefighter,
and who knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer or
firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for 6, 9, or 12 years.
(e) When a person is convicted of a violation of this section in a case involving
use of a deadly weapon or instrument or firearm, and the weapon or instrument or
firearm is owned by that person, the court shall order that the weapon or instrument
or firearm be deemed a nuisance, and it shall be confiscated and disposed of in the
manner provided by Sections 18000 and 18005.
(f) As used in this section, “peace officer” refers to any person designated as a
peace officer in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 178) by Stats. 2011, Ch. 183, Sec. 1. (AB 1026) Effective
January 1, 2012. Amended version operative January 1, 2012, pursuant to Stats. 2010, Ch. 178, Sec. 107.)
Penal Code 422 Criminal Threats
422. (a) Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in
death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the
statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication
device, is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out,
which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so unequivocal,
unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity
of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes
that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or
her immediate family’s safety, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail
not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
(b) For purposes of this section, “immediate family” means any spouse, whether
by marriage or not, parent, child, any person related by consanguinity or affinity
within the second degree, or any other person who regularly resides in the household,
or who, within the prior six months, regularly resided in the household.
(c) “Electronic communication device” includes, but is not limited to, telephones,
cellular telephones, computers, video recorders, fax machines, or pagers. “Electronic
communication” has the same meaning as the term defined in Subsection 12 of Section
2510 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15) by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 16. (AB 117) Effective
June 30, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, pursuant to Secs. 68 and 69 of Ch. 39.)
Penal Code 451- Arson
451. A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire
to or burns or causes to be burned or who aids, counsels, or procures the burning of,
any structure, forest land, or property.
(a) Arson that causes great bodily injury is a felony punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison for five, seven, or nine years.
(b) Arson that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.
(c) Arson of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison for two, four, or six years.
(d) Arson of property is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
for 16 months, two, or three years. For purposes of this paragraph, arson of property
does not include one burning or causing to be burned his or her own personal property
unless there is an intent to defraud or there is injury to another person or another
person’s structure, forest land, or property.
(e) In the case of any person convicted of violating this section while confined in
a state prison, prison road camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison
farm, or while confined in a county jail while serving a term of imprisonment for a
felony or misdemeanor conviction, any sentence imposed shall be consecutive to the
sentence for which the person was then confined.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 421, Sec. 1. Effective September 7, 1994.)
Penal Code 136.1 Dissuading a Witness or Victim
136.1. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any person who does any of the
following is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison:
(1) Knowingly and maliciously prevents or dissuades any witness or victim from
attending or giving testimony at any trial, proceeding, or inquiry authorized by law.
(2) Knowingly and maliciously attempts to prevent or dissuade any witness or
victim from attending or giving testimony at any trial, proceeding, or inquiry authorized
by law.
(3) For purposes of this section, evidence that the defendant was a family member
who interceded in an effort to protect the witness or victim shall create a presumption
that the act was without malice.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), every person who attempts to prevent
or dissuade another person who has been the victim of a crime or who is witness to
a crime from doing any of the following is guilty of a public offense and shall be
punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or in the state
prison:
(1) Making any report of that victimization to any peace officer or state or local
law enforcement officer or probation or parole or correctional officer or prosecuting
agency or to any judge.
(2) Causing a complaint, indictment, information, probation or parole violation to
be sought and prosecuted, and assisting in the prosecution thereof.
(3) Arresting or causing or seeking the arrest of any person in connection with that
victimization.
(c) Every person doing any of the acts described in subdivision (a) or (b) knowingly
and maliciously under any one or more of the following circumstances, is guilty of a
felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years
under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Where the act is accompanied by force or by an express or implied threat of
force or violence, upon a witness or victim or any third person or the property of any
victim, witness, or any third person.
(2) Where the act is in furtherance of a conspiracy.
(3) Where the act is committed by any person who has been convicted of any
violation of this section, any predecessor law hereto or any federal statute or statute
of any other state which, if the act prosecuted was committed in this state, would be
a violation of this section.(4) Where the act is committed by any person for pecuniary gain or for any other
consideration acting upon the request of any other person. All parties to such a
transaction are guilty of a felony.
(d) Every person attempting the commission of any act described in subdivisions
(a), (b), and (c) is guilty of the offense attempted without regard to success or failure
of the attempt. The fact that no person was injured physically, or in fact intimidated,
shall be no defense against any prosecution under this section.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the imposition of an enhancement for great
bodily injury where the injury inflicted is significant or substantial.
(f) The use of force during the commission of any offense described in subdivision
(c) shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation of the crime in imposing a term
of imprisonment under subdivision (b) of Section 1170.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 500, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1998.)
Penal Code 182- Conspiracy
182. (a) If two or more persons conspire:
(1) To commit any crime.
(2) Falsely and maliciously to indict another for any crime, or to procure another
to be charged or arrested for any crime.
(3) Falsely to move or maintain any suit, action, or proceeding.
(4) To cheat and defraud any person of any property, by any means which are in
themselves criminal, or to obtain money or property by false pretenses or by false
promises with fraudulent intent not to perform those promises.
(5) To commit any act injurious to the public health, to public morals, or to pervert
or obstruct justice, or the due administration of the laws.
(6) To commit any crime against the person of the President or Vice President of
the United States, the Governor of any state or territory, any United States justice or
judge, or the secretary of any of the executive departments of the United States.
They are punishable as follows:
When they conspire to commit any crime against the person of any official specified
in paragraph (6), they are guilty of a felony and are punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for five, seven, or nine years.
When they conspire to commit any other felony, they shall be punishable in the
same manner and to the same extent as is provided for the punishment of that felony.
If the felony is one for which different punishments are prescribed for different degrees,
the jury or court which finds the defendant guilty thereof shall determine the degree
of the felony the defendant conspired to commit. If the degree is not so determined,
the punishment for conspiracy to commit the felony shall be that prescribed for the
lesser degree, except in the case of conspiracy to commit murder, in which case the
punishment shall be that prescribed for murder in the first degree.
If the felony is conspiracy to commit two or more felonies which have different
punishments and the commission of those felonies constitute but one offense of
conspiracy, the penalty shall be that prescribed for the felony which has the greater
maximum term.
When they conspire to do an act described in paragraph (4), they shall be punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
When they conspire to do any of the other acts described in this section, they shall
be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. When they receive a felony
conviction for conspiring to commit identity theft, as defined in Section 530.5, the
court may impose a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
All cases of conspiracy may be prosecuted and tried in the superior court of any
county in which any overt act tending to effect the conspiracy shall be done.
(b) Upon a trial for conspiracy, in a case where an overt act is necessary to constitute
the offense, the defendant cannot be convicted unless one or more overt acts are
expressly alleged in the indictment or information, nor unless one of the acts alleged
is proved; but other overt acts not alleged may be given in evidence.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 272. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1,
2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
ARSANY LAW CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY 