(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 231. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
19.4.
When an act or omission is declared by a statute to be a public offense and no penalty for the offense is prescribed in any statute, the act or omission is punishable as a misdemeanor.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 897, Sec. 11.)
19.6.
An infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. A person charged with an infraction shall not be entitled to a trial by jury. A person charged with an infraction shall not be entitled to have the public defender or other counsel appointed at public expense to represent him or her unless he or she is arrested and not released on his or her written promise to appear, his or her own recognizance, or a deposit of bail.
(Added by renumbering Section 19c by Stats. 1989, Ch. 897, Sec. 8.)
19.7.
Except as otherwise provided by law, all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply to infractions including, but not limited to, powers of peace officers, jurisdiction of courts, periods for commencing action and for bringing a case to trial and burden of proof.
(Added by renumbering Section 19d by Stats. 1989, Ch. 897, Sec. 9.)
19.8.
(a) The following offenses are subject to subdivision (d) of Section 17: Sections 193.8, 330, 415, 485, 490.7, 555, 602.13, and 853.7 of this code; subdivision (c) of Section 532b, and subdivision (o) of Section 602 of this code; subdivision (b) of Section 25658 and Sections 21672, 25661, and 25662 of the Business and Professions Code; Section 27204 of the Government Code; subdivision (c) of Section 23109 and Sections 5201.1, 12500, 14601.1, 27150.1, 40508, and 42005 of the Vehicle Code, and any other offense that the Legislature makes subject to subdivision (d) of Section 17. Except where a lesser maximum fine is expressly provided for a violation of those sections, a violation that is an infraction is punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed, every offense declared to be an infraction is punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250)
(c) Except for the violations enumerated in subdivision (d) of Section 13202.5 of the Vehicle Code, and Section 14601.1 of the Vehicle Code based upon failure to appear, a conviction for an offense made an infraction under subdivision (d) of Section 17 is not grounds for the suspension, revocation, or denial of a license, or for the revocation of probation or parole of the person convicted.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 54, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2015.)
19.9.
For purposes of this code, “mandatory supervision” shall mean the portion of a defendant’s sentenced term during which time he or she is supervised by the county probation officer pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 43, Sec. 14. Effective June 27, 2012.)
20.
In every crime or public offense there must exist a union, or joint operation of act and intent, or criminal negligence.
(Enacted 1872.)
21a.
An attempt to commit a crime consists of two elements: a specific intent to commit the crime, and a direct but ineffectual act done toward its commission.
(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 519, Sec. 1.)
23.
In any criminal proceeding against a person who has been issued a license to engage in a business or profession by a state agency pursuant to provisions of the Business and Professions Code or the Education Code, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, the state agency which issued the license may voluntarily appear to furnish pertinent information, make recommendations regarding specific conditions of probation, or provide any other assistance necessary to promote the interests of justice and protect the interests of the public, or may be ordered by the court to do so, if the crime charged is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a licensee.
For purposes of this section, the term “license” shall include a permit or a certificate issued by a state agency.
For purposes of this section, the term “state agency” shall include any state board, commission, bureau, or division created pursuant to the provisions of the Business and Professions Code, the Education Code, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act to license and regulate individuals who engage in certain businesses and professions.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 545, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2003.)
24.
This Act, whenever cited, enumerated, referred to, or amended, may be designated simply as The Penal Code, adding, when necessary, the number of the section.
(Enacted 1872.)
PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS [25 — 680]
(Part 1 enacted 1872.)
TITLE 1. OF PERSONS LIABLE TO PUNISHMENT FOR CRIME [25 — 29.8]
(Title 1 enacted 1872.)
25.
(a) The defense of diminished capacity is hereby abolished. In a criminal action, as well as any juvenile court proceeding, evidence concerning an accused person’s intoxication, trauma, mental illness, disease, or defect shall not be admissible to show or negate capacity to form the particular purpose, intent, motive, malice aforethought, knowledge, or other mental state required for the commission of the crime charged.
(b) In any criminal proceeding, including any juvenile court proceeding, in which a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is entered, this defense shall be found by the trier of fact only when the accused person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she was incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of his or her act and of distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the commission of the offense.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, evidence of diminished capacity or of a mental disorder may be considered by the court only at the time of sentencing or other disposition or commitment.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not be amended by the Legislature except by statute passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring, or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors.
(Added June 8, 1982, by initiative Proposition 8, Sec. 4. Note: Prop. 8 is titled The Victims' Bill of Rights.)
26.
All persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes:
One — Children under the age of 14, in the absence of clear proof that at the time of committing the act charged against them, they knew its wrongfulness.
Two — Persons who are mentally incapacitated.
Three — Persons who committed the act or made the omission charged under an ignorance or mistake of fact, which disproves any criminal intent.
Four — Persons who committed the act charged without being conscious thereof.
Five — Persons who committed the act or made the omission charged through misfortune or by accident, when it appears that there was no evil design, intention, or culpable negligence.
Six