Does section 654, subdivision (a) of the California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 654 of the Criminal Code, allow a defendant to be punished for more than one act?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Ahumada, B266094 (Cal. App. 2016):

Section 654, subdivision (a), provides: "An act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision." "In Neal v. State of California (1960) 55 Cal.2d 11, this court construed the statute broadly: '"Section 654 has been applied not only where there was but one 'act' in the ordinary sense . . . but also where a course of conduct violated more than one statute and the problem was whether it comprised a divisible transaction which could be punished under more than one statute within the meaning of section 654." [Citation.] [] Whether a course of criminal conduct is divisible and therefore gives rise to more than one act within the meaning of section 654 depends on the intent and objective of the actor. If all of the offenses were incident to one objective, the defendant may be punished for any one of such offenses but not for more than one.' (Id. at p. 19.)" (People v. Rodriguez (2009) 47 Cal.4th 501, 507

Page 6

[italics omitted].) "'If, however, the defendant had multiple or simultaneous objectives, independent of and not merely incidental to each other, the defendant may be punished for each violation committed in pursuit of each objective even though the violations shared common acts or were parts of an otherwise indivisible course of conduct. [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Hairston (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 231, 240 (Hairston).)

Other Questions


Does Section 654, subdivision (a) of the California Code of Criminal Procedure, section 654 of the Criminal Code, allow a defendant to be punished for more than one act? (California, United States of America)
Is a criminal offence punishable by section 654 (a) of the Criminal Code of Ontario's Criminal Code punishable by Section 654, subdivision (a), punishable by the same law, punishable by a different law? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be found to have committed a single physical act for purposes of section 654 of the California Criminal Code, Section 215 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Section 422 of the Criminal Code for carjacking? (California, United States of America)
Does Section 1054(1) of the California Civil Code of Civil Procedure, section 1054 et. seq. and section 854 of the Criminal Code, allow defense counsel to conduct their investigation and prepare for trial? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be punished under section 654 of the California Criminal Code for failing to comply with the requirements of Section 654, subdivision (a) of the Criminal Code? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for Section 654 of the California Criminal Code when a defendant is found guilty of a breach of section 654 or section 744 of the Code of Civil Procedure? (California, United States of America)
Does section 27 of the California Criminal Code, section 778a, subdivision (a)(1) of the Criminal Code of California apply to a defendant who is charged with a charge of conspiracy to commit a crime committed outside of the state? (California, United States of America)
Does section 1108 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, section 1101, subdivision (a) of the Criminal Code, allow for "propensity" evidence in sexual assault cases? (California, United States of America)
What is the effect of qualifying words and phrases in section 667.6, subdivision (d) of the California Criminal Code, when a defendant is convicted of assault with intent to commit mayhem under Section 220 of the Code of Civil Procedure? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be punished under section 654(1) of the California Criminal Code for failing to comply with the requirements of Section 654 of the Criminal Code? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.