What is the test for a breach of section 654 of the California Penal Code?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from In Re M.D., F059004, No. JL3015 (Cal. App. 2010):

"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." (Pen. Code, 654, subd. (a).) Penal Code section 654 applies not only when one act violates more than one statute, but also when a course of conduct comprising an indivisible transaction violates more than one statute. (Neal v. State of California (1960) 55 Cal.2d 11, 19.) "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." (Ibid.)

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