Title PEN, California Penal Code

It is hereby made the duty of the wardens of the State prisons to receive persons sentenced to imprisonment in a State prison, and such persons shall be imprisoned until duly released according to law. (Added by Stats. 1941, Ch. 106.)

All criminals sentenced to prison by the authority of the United States or of any state or territory of the United States, may be received by the Director of Corrections and imprisoned in California state prisons in accordance with the sentence of the court by which they were tri…

(a) In any case in which a woman offender can be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail, or be required to serve a term of imprisonment therein as a condition of probation, or has already been so sentenced or imprisoned, the court which tried the offender may, with the cons…

(a) For purposes of this section, a “youth offender” is an individual committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who is under 22 years of age. (b) (1) The department shall, at reception, automatically grant a youth offender a lower security level than the level…

Section 26400 does not apply to, or affect, the carrying of an unloaded firearm that is not a handgun in any of the following circumstances: (a) By a person when carried within a place of business, a place of residence, or on private real property, if that person, by virtue of su…

Section 26400 does not apply to, or affect, the carrying of an unloaded firearm that is not a handgun in any of the following circumstances: (a) By a person who finds that firearm, if the person is carrying the firearm in order to comply with Article 1 (commencing with Section 20…

Any person who knowingly and willfully communicates to another, either orally or in writing, any statement concerning any person then or theretofore convicted of a felony, and then finally discharged, and which communication is made with the purpose and intent to deprive such per…

(a) The Legislature finds that there are prisoners who have a treatable, severe mental health disorder that was one of the causes of, or was an aggravating factor in, the commission of the crime for which they were incarcerated. Secondly, the Legislature finds that if the severe …

As a condition of parole, a prisoner who meets the following criteria shall be provided necessary treatment by the State Department of State Hospitals as follows: (a) (1) The prisoner has a severe mental health disorder that is not in remission or that cannot be kept in remission…

(a) Upon a showing of good cause, the Board of Parole Hearings may order that a person remain in custody for no more than 45 days beyond the person’s scheduled release date for full evaluation pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 2962 and any additional evaluat…

(a) The treatment required by Section 2962 shall be inpatient unless the State Department of State Hospitals certifies to the Board of Parole Hearings that there is reasonable cause to believe the parolee can be safely and effectively treated on an outpatient basis, in which case…

(a) A prisoner may request a hearing before the Board of Parole Hearings, and the board shall conduct a hearing if so requested, for the purpose of proving that the prisoner meets the criteria in Section 2962. At the hearing, the burden of proof shall be on the person or agency w…

If the prisoner’s severe mental health disorder is put into remission during the parole period, and can be kept in remission, the Director of State Hospitals shall notify the Board of Parole Hearings and the State Department of State Hospitals shall discontinue treating the parol…

(a) Not later than 180 days prior to the termination of parole, or release from prison if the prisoner refused to agree to treatment as a condition of parole as required by Section 2962, unless good cause is shown for the reduction of that 180-day period, if the parolee’s or pris…

(a) (1) The court shall conduct a hearing on the petition under Section 2970 for continued treatment. The court shall advise the person of the right to be represented by an attorney and of the right to a jury trial. The attorney for the person shall be given a copy of the petitio…

(a) Outpatient status for persons committed pursuant to Section 2972 shall be for a period not to exceed one year. Pursuant to Section 1606, at the end of a period of outpatient status approved by the court, the court shall, after actual notice to the prosecutor, the defense atto…

Before releasing any inmate or terminating supervision of any parolee who is a danger to self or others, or gravely disabled as a result of a mental health disorder, and who does not come within the provisions of Section 2962, the Director of Corrections may, upon probable cause,…

(a) The cost of inpatient or outpatient treatment under Section 2962 or 2972 shall be a state expense while the person is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the State Department of State Hospitals. (b) Any person placed outside of a faci…

A person committed to the care of the State Department of State Hospitals because he or she is a mentally disordered offender, including a person who is found not guilty by reason of insanity, is eligible for compassionate release pursuant to Section 4146 of the Welfare and Insti…

(a) Any independent professionals appointed by the Board of Parole Hearings for purposes of this article shall not be state government employees. The independent professionals appointed shall have at least five years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health d…

This article applies to persons who committed their crimes on and after January 1, 1986. (Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 228, Sec. 5. Effective July 27, 1989.)

For the purpose of proving the fact that a prisoner has received 90 days or more of treatment within the year prior to the prisoner’s parole or release, the records or copies of records of any state penitentiary, county jail, federal penitentiary, or state hospital in which that …

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may enter into an agreement with a city, county, or city and county to permit transfer of prisoners in the custody of the secretary to a jail or other adult correctional facility of the city, county, or city an…

(a) Pursuant to Section 2910, the Director of Corrections may enter into a long-term agreement not to exceed 20 years with a city, county, or city and county to place parole violators and other state inmates in a facility which is specially designed and built for the incarceratio…

The Director of Corrections may enter into an agreement consistent with applicable law for a city, county, or city and county to construct and operate community corrections programs, restitution centers, halfway houses, work furlough programs, or other correctional programs autho…

(a) The Director of Corrections may enter into contracts, with the approval of the Director of General Services, with appropriate officials or agencies of the United States for the confinement, care, education, treatment, and employment of persons convicted of criminal offenses i…

(a) Under its Foreign Prisoner Transfer Program, the Board of Prison Terms shall devise a method of notifying each foreign born inmate in a prison or reception center operated by the Department of Corrections that he or she may be eligible to serve his or her term of imprisonment…

A city shall give notice to, and consult with, the county prior to contracting with the state pursuant to Section 2910 of this code or Section 1753.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (Added by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1450, Sec. 2.6.)

(a) The Department of Corrections shall inform every prisoner sentenced under Section 1170, for a crime committed prior to January 1, 1983, not later than 14 days after reception in prison, of all applicable prison rules and regulations including the possibility of receiving a on…

(a) In any case in which a prisoner was sentenced to the state prison pursuant to Section 1170, or if he committed a felony before July 1, 1977, and he would have been sentenced under Section 1170 if the felony had been committed after July 1, 1977, the Department of Corrections …

(a) (1) For any time credit accumulated pursuant to Section 2931 or 2933, not more than 360 days of credit may be denied or lost for a single act of murder, attempted murder, solicitation of murder, manslaughter, rape, sodomy, or oral copulation accomplished against the victim’s …

A prisoner who is found by a trial court to be a vexatious litigant as defined by Section 391 of the Code of Civil Procedure, shall be denied or lose 30 days of work time credit awarded under Section 2933. (Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 852, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that persons convicted of a crime and sentenced to the state prison under Section 1170 serve the entire sentence imposed by the court, except for a reduction in the time served in the custody of the Secretary of the Department of Correction…

(a) In addition to any credit awarded pursuant to Section 2933, the department may also award a prisoner program credit reductions from his or her term of confinement as provided in this section. Within 90 days of the enactment of this section, the secretary shall promulgate regu…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person who is convicted of a felony offense listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 shall accrue no more than 15 percent of worktime credit, as defined in Section 2933. (b) The 15-percent limitation provided in subdivision (a) shall apply…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 2933.1 or any other law, any person who is convicted of murder, as defined in Section 187, shall not accrue any credit, as specified in Section 2933 or Section 2933.05. (b) The limitation provided in subdivision (a) shall apply whether the defendant is…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any inmate assigned to a conservation camp by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who is eligible to earn one day of credit for every one day of incarceration pursuant to Section 2933 shall instead earn two days of credit for every…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who is convicted of any felony offense listed in paragraph (2), and who previously has been convicted two or more times, on charges separately brought and tried, and who previously has served two or more separate prior prison terms,…

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall, no later than July 1, 2017, establish regulations to allow specified inmates placed in segregation housing to earn credits pursuant to Section 2933 or 2933.05, or credits as otherwise specified in regulation, during the time…

In order to foster greater participation in rehabilitative programming and to reduce interruptions in incarcerated people’s growth, self-exploration, improvement and skill building, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall conduct programming in a manner that accomp…

Under rules prescribed by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a prisoner subject to the provisions of Section 2931 may waive the right to receive time credits as provided in Section 2931 and be subject to the provisions of Section 2933. In order to …

Under the guidelines prescribed by the rules and regulations of the director, the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may grant up to 12 additional months of reduction of the sentence to a prisoner who has performed a heroic act in a life-threatening sit…

(a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall submit a report to the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office whenever the department proposes regulatory changes pursuant to Section 32 of Article I of the Californi…

An issue of fact arises: 1. Upon a plea of not guilty. 2. Upon a plea of a former conviction or acquittal of the same offense. 3. Upon a plea of once in jeopardy. 4. Upon a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. (Amended by Stats. 1949, Ch. 1314.)

Issues of fact shall be tried in the manner provided in Article I, Section 16 of the Constitution of this state. (Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 787, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2003.)

Trial of an infraction shall be by the court, but when a defendant has been charged with an infraction and with a public offense for which there is a right to jury trial and a jury trial is not waived, the court may order that the offenses be tried together by jury or that they b…