Every person who negligently, willfully or maliciously digs up, removes, displaces, breaks down or otherwise injures or destroys any state or other public highway or bridge, or any private way, laid out by authority of law, or bridge upon any such highway or private way, or who negligently, willfully or maliciously sprinkles, drains, diverts or in any manner permits water from any sprinkler, ditch, canal, flume, or reservoir to flow upon or saturate by seepage any public highway, which act tends to damage such highway or tends to be a hazard to traffic thereon, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. This section shall not apply to the natural flow of surface or flood waters that are not diverted, accelerated or concentrated by such person.
Cal. Penal Code § 588
Malicious Injuries to Railroad Bridges, Highways, Bridges, and Telegraphs
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case People v. Goodin (1902)
Most recently applied in 85 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 821 - People v. Goodspeed (April 1948)
Amended by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1625.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.