Criminal
Welcome to Lawi’s introductory entry covering the criminal laws of California, with information on the various criminal statutes enforced in California. This introductory entry covers a wide variety of crimes in California, including violent crimes such as murder, child abuse, kidnapping, extortion, California prohibitions on white-collar crimes such as identity theft and the perpetration of pyramid schemes; and sexual assault taking place in California. Of course, there are legal treatment of more commonly committed crimes such as DUI and credit card fraud.
California’ criminal statutes identify a wide range of conduct (that is made punishable by sanctions like imprisonment, fines and other sanctions or punishments) considered illegal, such as theft or murder. While many of its criminal laws and sanctions in California are similar to those of other states, California has some unique issues.
Browse California Criminal Law Topics
The cross-references below provide California-specific information on statutes on a wide range of crimes in California, with select overviews, penalty ranges, and resources. Choose a link below to learn more about California’s criminal laws.
California Drug Crimes
This text offers explanations on a wide range of drug crimes and drug issues in California, including marijuana laws, drug cultivation, cocaine laws and drug possession.
California Domestic Violence Laws
Domestic violence offenses covers legal grounds for charging defendants with the crime in California, information for victims, penalties and sentences for offenders in California, and related topics. An Overview of California domestic violence laws can include crimes such as assault, stalking, menacing, sexual misconduct or abuse, and strangulation and cross references to related information. Victims of domestic violence may bring civil charges in family court, criminal charges in criminal court, or simultaneous actions in both courts.
California Child Abuse Laws
Summary of California’s child abuse legal regime, including a statutory definition of the offense, child abuse prevention issues, a list of those considered mandatory reporters, and other related topics.
California DUI Laws
General overview on California’s DUI laws, which restrict driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, with summaries of crime classifications and possible sentences.
California First-Degree Murder Laws
Explanations of California first-degree murder law, an extremely serious crime felony, punishable by though judicial decisions in California (see also felony murder).
California Identity Theft Laws
An overview of California’s various laws and regulations handling the crime of identity theft in California, in which an individual’s personal identifying information is used to secure credit or purchase goods.
California Assault and Battery Laws
General overview of assault and battery law under California statutes. Criminal assault is the intentional physical injury and threat of violence and criminal battery on another person. Factors such as the seriousness of the injury, the use of deadly weapons, and the mental culpability of the defendant determine the degree of the offense.
California Sexual Assault Laws
A summary of California sexual assault (or rape) laws (which prohibit the commission of sexual acts against an unwilling partner, often through force or threat of force) and the concept of “sexual battery,” which is elevated to the more-serious charge of “rape” when it leads to non-consensual intercourse.
Particular Crimes and Offenses
Welcome to the California legal encyclopedia's introductory part covering the particular crimes and offenses laws of California, with explanations of the various implications of particular crimes and offenses in California and the statutes enforced in California in connexion with particular crimes and offenses. This introductory section covers case law related to particular crimes and offenses in California, the legal approach on particular crimes and offenses in the United States and related topics. The information below provides an California-specific general overview of the legal regime of particular crimes and offenses in California.
Particular Crimes and Offenses in relation to Criminal Law & Procedure
This section analizes the legal issue of particular crimes and offenses in this context, and provides information on its relation with Particular Crimes and Offenses.