California criminal law

California criminal law

California Criminal Law generally follows the law of the United States. However, there are both substantive and procedural differences between how the United States Federal Government and California prosecute alleged violations of criminal law. This article will focus exclusively on California criminal law.

Types of crimes

California defines a "Crime" or "Public Offense" as an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it which can be punished upon conviction with either death, imprisonment, fine, removal from office or disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in California. [California Penal Code § 15.] In California, there are three different types of crimes: (1) Infractions, (2) Misdemeanors, and (3) Felonies. [California Penal Code § 16.]

Infractions

An infraction is a crime that is not punisable by imprisonment. [California Penal Code § 19.6] In other words, any person convicted of an infraction may only be punished by a fine, removal and/or disqualification from public office. Typically, most infractions are punished with a fine only. Examples of infractions in California are traffic violation such as exceeding the posted speed limit, etc.

Misdemeanors

A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county or city jail or detention facility not to exceed one year. [California Penal Code § 19.2] Except where the law specifies a different punishment, a misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months and/or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars. [California Penal Code § 19.] However, many misdemeanor offenses specifically list a punsihment that exceeds the punishment listed in Penal Code section 19. For example, a misdemeanor violation of Battery on a Peace Officer is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year and/or a two thousand dollar fine. [California Penal Code § 243(b).]

Felonies

A felony is a more serious crime that can be punished by death or imprisonment in a state prison. [California Penal Code § 17(a).] A person convicted of a felony can also be granted probation instead of a prison sentence. [California Penal Code § 1203.] If a person is granted probation, the court can impose many conditions on a grant of probation, including up to one year in county jail, money fines up to the maximum allowed by state law, and restitution to the victim for actual losses. [California Penal Code § 1203.1] In addition, the court may impose reasonable condition as long as the conditions are reasonably related to the defendant's crime, or to future criminality. [See, e.g., "People v. Carbajal" (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1114, 1121.]

References

External links

For examples of some of the more common criminal charges in California, see [http://www.amadorcriminaldefense.com/crim_law.html Commonly Charged Offenses]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Criminal law — For the 1989 film, see Criminal Law (film). Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and… …   Wikipedia

  • California Southern Law School — Not to be confused with University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA), Southern California Institute of Law (Santa Barbara, CA), the correspondence school California Southern University (Irvine, CA), or the unaccredited institution called… …   Wikipedia

  • Criminal law of the United States — Contents 1 Sources of law 1.1 Common law 1.2 Statutes 1.3 Model Penal Code 2 Theories of punis …   Wikipedia

  • criminal law — The substantive criminal law is that law which for the purpose of preventing harm to society, (a) declares what conduct is criminal, and (b) prescribes the punishment to be imposed for such conduct. It includes the definition of specific offenses …   Black's law dictionary

  • criminal law — The substantive criminal law is that law which for the purpose of preventing harm to society, (a) declares what conduct is criminal, and (b) prescribes the punishment to be imposed for such conduct. It includes the definition of specific offenses …   Black's law dictionary

  • New Criminal Law Review — The New Criminal Law Review (ISSN 1933 4192) is a quarterly peer reviewed law journal published by University of California Press. It was established in 1997 as the Buffalo Criminal Law Review, but changed names in 2007 after the University… …   Wikipedia

  • Law — /law/, n. 1. Andrew Bonar /bon euhr/, 1858 1923, English statesman, born in Canada: prime minister 1922 23. 2. John, 1671 1729, Scottish financier. 3. William, 1686 1761, English clergyman and devotional writer. * * * I Discipline and profession… …   Universalium

  • Criminal jurisdiction — is a term used in constitutional law and public law to describe the power of courts to hear a case brought by a state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime. It is relevant in three distinct situations: to regulate the relationship… …   Wikipedia

  • Law report — Law reports or reporters are series of books which contain judicial opinions from a selection of cases that have been decided by the courts. When a particular judicial opinion is referenced, the law report series in which the opinion is printed… …   Wikipedia

  • Law, Crime, and Law Enforcement — ▪ 2006 Introduction Trials of former heads of state, U.S. Supreme Court rulings on eminent domain and the death penalty, and high profile cases against former executives of large corporations were leading legal and criminal issues in 2005.… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”