Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Cal. Penal Code § 959

Rules of Pleading

Applied in 17 court decisions — leading case 119 Cal. App. 82 - People v. Beesly (1931)

Most recently applied in People v. Hathaway (August 1972)

Amended by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1674.

How often courts cite this section

18881900192019401960197220
citing decisions per year

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.

The accusatory pleading is sufficient if it can be understood therefrom:

1. That it is filed in a court having authority to receive it, though the name of the court be not stated.

2. If an indictment, that it was found by a grand jury of the county in which the court was held, or if an information, that it was subscribed and presented to the court by the district attorney of the county in which the court was held.

3. If a complaint, that it is made and subscribed by some natural person and sworn to before some officer entitled to administer oaths.

4. That the defendant is named, or if his name is unknown, that he is described by a fictitious name, with a statement that his true name is to the grand jury, district attorney, or complainant, as the case may be, unknown.

5. That the offense charged therein is triable in the court in which it is filed, except in case of a complaint filed with a magistrate for the purposes of a preliminary examination.

6. That the offense was committed at some time prior to the filing of the accusatory pleading.

Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.