How has section 654 of the California Criminal Code been interpreted in the context of Section 654?

Section 654 prohibits multiple punishments for crimes arising out of a single act or indivisible course of conduct. (People v. Hester (2000) 22 Cal.4th 290, 294.) The statute

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provides, in pertinent part: "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." ( 654, subd. (a).) A defendant's intent and objective, rather than the "temporal proximity of his offenses," determines whether two crimes are part of an indivisible course of conduct. (People v. Harrison (1989) 48 Cal.3d 321, 335.)

The applicability of section 654 "is a question of fact for the trial court, which is vested with broad latitude in making its determination. Its findings will not be reversed on appeal if there is any substantial evidence to support them. We review the trial court's determination in the light most favorable to the respondent and presume the existence of every fact the trial court could reasonably deduce from the evidence." (People v. Jones (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 1139, 1143, citations omitted.)