California Crimes: Laws & Penalties

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime in California, you'll want as much information as possible about the crime and its consequences. What does the prosecutor have to prove in order to get a conviction? What's the sentence; is it a range, and what factors might affect a judge's decision to impose a lower or higher sentence? Most importantly, are there any legally recognized defenses to this charge?

The articles on this page give you this information for specified California crimes. If you want to read the laws themselves, you'll find citations to them (see "Looking Up the Law," below, for tips on how to find the law online). But most of the time, our summaries will give you  what you need.

Be sure to understand that no legal article is a substitute for a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney, who regularly practices in your area. The "letter of the law" is only your strating point. Working with your attorney, you should come to understand how the amount and quality of the evidence in your case will affect your options, which may range from attempting to get the case dismissed, to negotiating a plea, to going to trial.