CHAPTER 2. Crimes and Penalties [422.6. - 422.865.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 2.

in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.6. Section 422.6.

(a) A person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall not, by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of a right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in subdivision (a) of Section 422.55. (b) A person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall not knowingly deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property of any other person for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with the free exercise or enjoyment of a right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States, in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in subdivision (a) of Section 422.55. (c) A person convicted of violating subdivision (a) or (b) shall be punished either by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the above imprisonment and fine, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. In addition to that punishment, the court shall order the defendant to perform a minimum of community service, not to exceed 400 hours, to be performed over a period not to exceed 350 days, during a time other than the person’s hours of employment or school attendance. However, a person shall not be convicted of violating subdivision (a) based upon speech alone, except upon a showing that the speech itself threatened violence against a specific person or group of persons and that the defendant had the apparent ability to carry out the threat. (d) Conduct that violates this and any other law, including, but not limited to, an offense described in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11410) of Chapter 3 of Title 1 of Part 4, may be charged under all applicable provisions. However, an act or omission punishable in different ways by this section and another law shall not be punished under more than one law, and the penalty to be imposed shall be determined as set forth in Section 654.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.7. Section 422.7.

Except in the case of a person punished under Section 422.6, any hate crime that is not made punishable by imprisonment in the state prison shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine, if the crime is committed against the person or property of another for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with that other person’s free exercise or enjoyment of any right secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States under any of the following circumstances, which shall be charged in the accusatory pleading: (a) The crime against the person of another either includes the present ability to commit a violent injury or causes actual physical injury. (b) The crime against property causes damage in excess of nine hundred fifty dollars ($950). (c) The person charged with a crime under this section has been convicted previously of a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 422.6, or has been convicted previously of a conspiracy to commit a crime described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 422.6.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.8. Section 422.8.

Except as otherwise required by law, nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent or limit the prosecution of any person pursuant to any provision of law.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.75. Section 422.75.

(a) Except in the case of a person punished under Section 422.7, a person who commits a felony that is a hate crime or attempts to commit a felony that is a hate crime, shall receive an additional term of one, two, or three years in the state prison, at the court’s discretion. (b) Except in the case of a person punished under Section 422.7 or subdivision (a) of this section, any person who commits a felony that is a hate crime, or attempts to commit a felony that is a hate crime, and who voluntarily acted in concert with another person, either personally or by aiding and abetting another person, shall receive an additional two, three, or four years in the state prison, at the court’s discretion. (c) For the purpose of imposing an additional term under subdivision (a) or (b), it shall be a factor in aggravation that the defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of the offense. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a court from also imposing a sentence enhancement pursuant to Section 12022.5, 12022.53, or 12022.55, or any other law. (d) A person who is punished pursuant to this section also shall receive an additional term of one year in the state prison for each prior felony conviction on charges brought and tried separately in which it was found by the trier of fact or admitted by the defendant that the crime was a hate crime. This additional term shall only apply where a sentence enhancement is not imposed pursuant to Section 667 or 667.5. (e) Any additional term authorized by this section shall not be imposed unless the allegation is charged in the accusatory pleading and admitted by the defendant or found to be true by the trier of fact. (f) Any additional term imposed pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any other punishment provided by law. (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may strike any additional term imposed by this section if the court determines that there are mitigating circumstances and states on the record the reasons for striking the additional punishment.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.76. Section 422.76.

Except where the court imposes additional punishment under Section 422.75 or in a case in which the person has been convicted of an offense subject to Section 1170.8, the fact that a person committed a felony or attempted to commit a felony that is a hate crime shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation of the crime in imposing a term under subdivision (b) of Section 1170.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.77. Section 422.77.

(a) Any willful and knowing violation of any order issued pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 52.1 of the Civil Code shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment. (b) A person who has previously been convicted one or more times of violating an order issued pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 52.1 of the Civil Code upon charges separately brought and tried shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year. Subject to the discretion of the court, the prosecution shall have the opportunity to present witnesses and relevant evidence at the time of the sentencing of a defendant pursuant to this subdivision. (c) The prosecuting agency of each county shall have the primary responsibility for the enforcement of orders issued pursuant to Section 52.1 of the Civil Code. (d) The court may order a defendant who is convicted of a hate crime to perform a minimum of community service, not to exceed 400 hours, to be performed over a period not to exceed 350 days, during a time other than their hours of employment or school attendance.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.78. Section 422.78.

The prosecuting agency of each county shall have the primary responsibility for the enforcement of orders issued pursuant to this title or Section 52.1 of the Civil Code.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.85. Section 422.85.

(a) In the case of any person who is convicted of any offense against the person or property of another individual, private institution, or public agency, committed because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including, but not limited to, offenses defined in Section 302, 423.2, 594.3, 11411, 11412, or 11413, or for any hate crime, the court, absent compelling circumstances stated on the record, shall make an order protecting the victim, or known immediate family or domestic partner of the victim, from further acts of violence, threats, stalking, or harassment by the defendant, including any stay-away conditions the court deems appropriate, and shall make obedience of that order a condition of the defendant’s probation. In these cases the court may also order that the defendant be required to do one or more of the following as a condition of probation: (1) Complete a class or program on racial or ethnic sensitivity, or other similar training in the area of civil rights, or a one-year counseling program intended to reduce the tendency toward violent and antisocial behavior if that class, program, or training is available and was developed or authorized by the court or local agencies in cooperation with organizations serving the affected community. (2) Make payments or other compensation to a community-based program or local agency that provides services to victims of hate violence. (3) Reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s acts. (b) Any payments or other compensation ordered under this section shall be in addition to restitution payments required under Section 1203.04, and shall be made only after that restitution is paid in full.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.86. Section 422.86.

(a) It is the public policy of this state that the principal goals of sentencing for hate crimes, are the following: (1) Punishment for the hate crimes committed. (2) Crime and violence prevention, including prevention of recidivism and prevention of crimes and violence in prisons and jails. (3) Restorative justice for the immediate victims of the hate crimes and for the classes of persons terrorized by the hate crimes. (b) The Judicial Council shall develop a rule of court guiding hate crime sentencing to implement the policy in subdivision (a). In developing the rule of court, the council shall consult experts including organizations representing hate crime victims.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 422.865. Section 422.865.

(a) In the case of any person who is committed to a state hospital or other treatment facility under the provisions of Section 1026 for any offense against the person or property of another individual, private institution, or public agency because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability, gender, or sexual orientation, including, but not limited to, offenses defined in Section 302, 423.2, 594.3, 11411, 11412, or 11413, or for any hate crime, and then is either placed on outpatient status or conditional release from the state hospital or other treatment facility, the court or community program director may order that the defendant be required as a condition of outpatient status or conditional release to complete a class or program on racial or ethnic sensitivity, or other similar training in the area of civil rights, or a one-year counseling program intended to reduce the tendency toward violent and antisocial behavior if that class, program, or training is available and was developed or authorized by the court or local agencies in cooperation with organizations serving the affected community. (b) In the case of any person who is committed to a state hospital or other treatment facility under the provisions of Section 1026 for any offense against the person or property of another individual, private institution, or public agency committed because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability, gender, or sexual orientation, including, but not limited to, offenses defined in Section 302, 423.2, 594.3, 11411, 11412, or 11413, or for any hate crime, and then is either placed on outpatient status or conditional release from the state hospital or other treatment facility, the court, absent compelling circumstances stated on the record, shall make an order protecting the victim, or known immediate family or domestic partner of the victim, from further acts of violence, threats, stalking, or harassment by the defendant, including any stay-away conditions as the court deems appropriate, and shall make obedience of that order a condition of the defendant’s outpatient status or conditional release. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage state agencies and treatment facilities to establish education and training programs to prevent violations of civil rights and hate crimes.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026