Can a defendant be punished for two crimes arising from a single indivisible course of conduct?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Booker, A146651 (Cal. App. 2017):

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." The statute "prohibits punishment for two crimes arising from a single indivisible course of conduct. [Citation.] If all of the crimes were merely incidental to, or were the means of accomplishing or facilitating one objective, a defendant may be punished only once. [Citation.] If, however, a defendant had several independent criminal objectives, he may be punished for each crime committed in pursuit of each objective, even though the crimes shared common acts or were parts of an otherwise indivisible course of conduct. [Citation.] The defendant's intent and objective are factual questions for the trial court, and we will uphold its ruling on these matters if . . . supported by substantial evidence." (People v. Perry (2007) 154 Cal.App.4th 1521, 1525.) "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. [Citation.]" (People v. Jones (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 1139, 1143 (Jones).)

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Does section 654 of the California Criminal Code prohibit punishment for two crimes arising from a single indivisible course of conduct? (California, United States of America)
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