Does Section 654, subdivision (a) of the California Penal Code bar multiple punishment for a single criminal offence that violates more than one criminal statute?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Stone, H045462 (Cal. App. 2019):

Section 654, subdivision (a) provides, in pertinent part, "[a]n 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." Section 654 is intended "to insure that a defendant's punishment [is] commensurate with his [or her] culpability." (People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 552.) The statute bars multiple punishment for both a single act that violates more than one criminal statute and multiple acts, where those acts comprise an indivisible course of conduct incident to a single criminal objective and intent. (People v. Latimer (1993) 5 Cal.4th 1203, 1208.) Section 654 is applicable to substantive offenses as well as enhancements. (People v. Buchanan (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 603, 615-617 (Buchanan).)

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