The words used in an accusatory pleading are construed in their usual acceptance in common language, except such words and phrases as are defined by law, which are construed according to their legal meaning.
Cal. Penal Code § 957
Rules of Pleading
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case People v. Prather (1898)
Most recently applied in 112 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 10 - People v. Callahan (August 1980)
Amended by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1674.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.