Crimes Explained: California

California criminal law in its official text, annotated. Each section is color-coded to show the prohibited act, the mental state the law requires, and the penalty, and references to other sections link to them. More of the Penal Code may follow.

• Select any section to open its own page with the official text beside a breakdown of each crime in it: the act, who can commit it when the law limits that, the mental state required, conditions, exceptions and defenses, the penalty with any conditions that change it, and other consequences. Breakdowns use only the text of that section. The Penal Code has no official section headings, so each section's name here is a short description written for this site.
• In the official text, the prohibited act is highlighted in orange, the mental state the law requires (knowledge, intent, recklessness or negligence, such as willfully or with intent to) in teal, conditions by their if or unless in purple italics, and penalties in red.
• Dotted-underlined words are legal terms. Tap or hover to see what they mean.
• The colored bar on each card shows the maximum prison time stated in that section. Many sentences are lower, enhancements and punishments set in other sections can add to them, and some crimes are punished under other sections.
• Felony or misdemeanor: a crime punishable by death, in state prison, or in county jail under Penal Code Section 1170(h) is a felony; every other crime is a misdemeanor (usually up to one year in county jail) or an infraction. A wobbler can be punished either way.