Does Section 654 of the California Criminal Code require a separate punishment for a criminal offence that violated more than one statute but nevertheless constituted an indivisible transaction?

Section 654 precludes multiple punishments for "a course of conduct which violated more than one statute but nevertheless constituted an indivisible transaction." (People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 551.) However, where the trial court finds a defendant entertains multiple and independent criminal objectives, separate punishments are permitted for crimes which would otherwise constitute an indivisible course of conduct. (Ibid.) The reviewing court employs a deferential standard of review of the trial court's findings based on substantial evidence. (People v. Hutchins (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 1308, 1312-1313.)

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