California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Bruno-Martinez, No. C060660 (Cal. App. 3/30/2010), No. C060660. (Cal. App. 2010):
The purpose of section 654 is to assure a defendant's punishment is commensurate with his culpability. (People v. Perez, supra, 23 Cal.3d at pp. 550-551.) Defendant argues that "a defendant who fires shots but is only charged and convicted of one count of attempted murder is less culpable than a defendant who is convicted of multiple counts of attempted murder against different victims." However, the culpability of defendant's conduct is measured by the seriousness of that conduct, not the fortuity that he is charged with only one crime. In this case, defendant shot multiple times at a vehicle containing four passengers. The imposition of multiple punishments under these circumstances is warranted.
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