Does section 654 of the California Code of Criminal Procedure prohibit a defendant from being punished for two offences arising from the same act or from an indivisible course of conduct?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Simpson, E065496 (Cal. App. 2017):

Section 654 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." ( 654, subd. (a).) "Section 654 prohibits punishment for two offenses arising from the same act or from a series of acts constituting an indivisible course of conduct. [Citations.]" (People v. Sok (2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 88, 99, fn. omitted.) "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. If all of the offenses were incident to one objective, the defendant may be punished for any one of such offenses but not for more than one." (Neal v. State of California (1960) 55 Cal.2d 11, 19.)

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