Title PEN, California Penal Code

If the defendant has been discharged on bail or has deposited money or other property instead thereof, and does not appear to be arraigned when his personal presence is necessary, the court, in addition to the forfeiture of the undertaking of bail or of the money or other propert…

Every officer convicted of any crime defined in this Chapter, in addition to the punishment prescribed, forfeits his office and is forever disqualified from holding any office in this State. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) At any time after the order for a bench warrant is made, whether the court is sitting or not, the clerk may issue a bench warrant to one or more counties. (b) The clerk shall require the appropriate agency to enter each bench warrant issued on a private surety-bonded felony c…

The bench warrant must be substantially in the following form: County of ____. The People of the State of California to any Sheriff, Marshal, or Policeman in this State: An accusatory pleading having been filed on the ____ day of ____, A.D. ____, in the Superior Court of the Coun…

The defendant, when arrested under a warrant for an offense not bailable, must be held in custody by the Sheriff of the county in which the indictment is found or information filed, unless admitted to bail after an examination upon a writ of habeas corpus; but if the offense is b…

The bench warrant may be served in any county in the same manner as a warrant of arrest. (Amended by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1674.)

If the defendant is brought before a magistrate of another county for the purpose of giving bail, the magistrate must proceed in respect thereto in the same manner as if the defendant had been brought before him upon a warrant of arrest, and the same proceedings must be had there…

When the information or indictment is for a felony, and the defendant, before the filing thereof, has given bail for his appearance to answer the charge, the Court to which the indictment or information is presented, or in which it is pending, may order the defendant to be commit…

If the defendant is present when the order is made, he must be forthwith committed. If he is not present, a bench warrant must be issued and proceeded upon in the manner provided in this chapter. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) In a noncapital case, if the defendant appears for arraignment without counsel, the defendant shall be informed by the court that it is their right to have counsel before being arraigned, and shall be asked if they desire the assistance of counsel. If the defendant desires an…

In assigning defense counsel in felony cases, whether it is the public defender or private counsel, the court shall only assign counsel who represents, on the record, that he or she will be ready to proceed with the preliminary hearing or trial, as the case may be, within the tim…

Counsel at the preliminary examination shall continue to represent a defendant who has been ordered to stand trial for a felony until the date set for arraignment on the information unless relieved by the court upon the substitution of other counsel or for cause. (Amended by Stat…

(a) In any case in which a person, including a person who is a minor, desires but is unable to employ counsel, and in which counsel is assigned in the superior court to represent the person in a criminal trial, proceeding, or appeal, the following assigned counsel shall receive a…

Whenever in this code a court-appointed attorney is entitled to reasonable compensation and necessary expenses, the judge of the court shall consider the following factors, no one of which alone shall be controlling: (a) Customary fee in the community for similar services rendere…

(a) From any state moneys made available to it for such purpose, the Department of Finance shall, pursuant to this section, pay to the counties an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the amounts actually expended by the counties in providing counsel in accordance with the law whet…

(a) In the trial of a capital case or a case under subdivision (a) of Section 190.05, the indigent defendant, through the defendant’s counsel, may request the court for funds for the specific payment of investigators, experts, and others for the preparation or presentation of the…

The arraignment must be made by the court, or by the clerk or prosecuting attorney under its direction, and consists in reading the accusatory pleading to the defendant and delivering to the defendant a true copy thereof, and of the endorsements thereon, if any, including the lis…

When the defendant is arraigned, he must be informed that if the name by which he is prosecuted is not his true name, he must then declare his true name, or be proceeded against by the name in the accusatory pleading. If he gives no other name, the court may proceed accordingly; …

The Superintendent of State Printing shall not, during his continuance in office, have any interest, either directly or indirectly, in any contract in any way connected with his office as Superintendent of State Printing; nor shall he, during said period, be interested, either di…

If on the arraignment, the defendant requires it, the defendant must be allowed a reasonable time to answer, which shall be not less than one day in a felony case and not more than seven days in a misdemeanor or infraction case. (Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 931, Sec. 380. Effecti…

(a) If the defendant is in custody at the time he appears before the magistrate for arraignment and, if the public offense is a misdemeanor to which the defendant has pleaded not guilty, the magistrate, on motion of counsel for the defendant or the defendant, shall determine whet…

(a) (1) In any case in which the defendant is charged with a felony, the court shall require the defendant to provide a right thumbprint on a form developed for this purpose. Unless the court has obtained the thumbprint at an earlier proceeding, it shall do so at the arraignment …

(a) At the arraignment of a defendant who is charged with a felony and who is, or whom the court reasonably deems to be, the sole custodial parent of one or more minor children, the court shall provide the following to the defendant: (1) Judicial Council Form GC-205, the “Guardia…

Section Ten Hundred and Eighty-three. The Court must allow or disallow the challenge, and its decision must be entered in the minutes of the Court. (Amended by Code Amendments 1873-74, Ch. 614.)

Prior to the release of a person convicted of arson from an institution under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, the Director of Corrections shall notify in writing the State Fire Marshal and all police departments and the sheriff in the county in which the person…

Within five days after release of a person convicted of arson from an institution under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals, the Director of State Hospitals shall send the notice provided in Section 11150. (Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 144, Sec. 48. (AB 184…

Upon receipt of a notice as provided in Section 11150 or 11151, the State Fire Marshal shall notify all regularly organized fire departments in the county in which the person was convicted and, if known, in the county in which he is to reside. (Repealed and added by Stats. 1982, …

The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (a) That the criminal justice agencies in this state require, for the performance of their official duties, accurate and reasonably complete criminal offender record information. (b) That the Legislature and other governmental policy…

(a) The Attorney General shall appoint an advisory committee to the California-Criminal Index and Identification (Cal-CII) system to assist in the ongoing management of the system with respect to operating policies, criminal records content, and records retention. The committee s…

(a) The designee of the Attorney General shall serve as chair of the committee. (b) The Department of Justice shall provide staff and support for the committee. (c) The committee shall meet at least twice annually. Subcommittees shall be formed and meet as necessary. All meetings…

As used in this chapter, “criminal justice agencies” are those agencies at all levels of government which perform as their principal functions, activities which either: (a) Relate to the apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, incarceration, or correction of criminal offenders; …

As used in this chapter, “criminal offender record information” means records and data compiled by criminal justice agencies for purposes of identifying criminal offenders and of maintaining as to each such offender a summary of arrests, pretrial proceedings, the nature and dispo…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law relating to retention of public records, any criminal justice agency may cause the original records filed pursuant to this chapter to be destroyed if all of the following requirements are met: (a) The records have been reproduced onto m…

Any certified reproduction of any record stored on a nonerasable storage medium under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be a certification of the original record. (Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 257, Sec. 6.)

Except as provided in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, or possesses any air gauge…

Except as provided in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, any air gauge knife is a nuisance and is subject to Section 18010. (Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 711, Sec. 6. (SB 1080) Effective January 1, 2011. Operative January 1, 2012, by Sec. 10 of Ch. 7…

The department is hereby authorized to contract for provisions, clothing, medicines, forage, fuel, and all other staple supplies needed for the support of the prisons for any period of time, not exceeding one year, and such contracts shall be limited to bona fide dealers in the s…

(a) The department shall have power to contract for the supply of electricity, gas and water for the prisons, upon terms the department deems in the best interests of the state, or to manufacture gas or electricity, or furnish water itself, at its option. It shall also have power…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that there is a correlation between prisoners who are functionally literate and those who successfully reintegrate into society upon release. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature, in enacting “The Prisoner Literacy Act,” to raise th…

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall implement in every state prison literacy programs that are designed to ensure that upon parole inmates are able to achieve the goals contained in this section. The department shall prepare an implementati…

The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall appoint a Superintendent of Correctional Education, who shall oversee and administer all prison education programs. The Superintendent of Correctional Education shall set both short- and long-term goals for i…

Consistent with the goals and priorities of the department, a career technical education program shall consider all of the following factors: (a) Whether the program aligns with the workforce needs of high-demand sectors of the state and regional economies. (b) Whether there is a…

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may establish and maintain classes for inmates by utilizing personnel of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or by entering into an agreement with the governing board of a school district or priva…

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall determine and implement a system of incentives to increase inmate participation in, and completion of, academic and vocational education, consistent with the inmate’s educational needs as identified in the assessment performe…

The Director of Corrections may, in his discretion, from time to time insure any or all products produced at any prison or institution under the jurisdiction of the Director of Corrections, whether the products are finished or unfinished, the materials from which such products ar…

If any of the shops or buildings in which convicts are employed require rebuilding or repair for any reason, they may be rebuilt or repaired immediately, under the direction of the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 241, Se…