California Felony Sentencing Schedule
The three columns below indicate the following:
1. Numerical section of the California Penal Code Section, i.e. “487.”
2. Brief description of the crime, i.e. “Grand Theft.”
3. Felony Sentencing Term in months.
| Penal Code Section | Description of Crime | Term (in months) |
| 118 | Perjury | 24 36 48 |
| 136.1(a) | Maliciously dissuade witness or victim from testimony | 16 24 36 |
| 148(b) | Taking of a weapon while resisting arrest | 16 24 36 |
| 148.1(a) | False bomb report to official | 16 24 36 |
| 191.5(a) | Vehicular manslaughter, with drugs or alcohol with gross negligence | 48 72 120 |
| 192(a) | Voluntary manslaughter | 36 72 132 |
| 192(b) | Involuntary manslaughter | 24 36 48 |
| 192(c)(1) | Vehicular manslaughter without drugs or alcohol but with gross negligence | 24 48 72 |
| 192(c)(3) | Vehicular manslaughter with drugs or alcohol but without gross negligence | 16 24 48 |
| 203 | Mayhem | 24 48 96 |
| 207 | Kidnapping | 36 60 96 |
| 207 | Kidnapping victim under 14 years old | 60 96 132 |
| 207 | Kidnapping with intent to commit rape, oral copulation, sodomy, or rape by instrument | 60 96 132 |
| 212.5(a) | Robbery first degree | 36 48 72 |
| 212.5(b) | Robbery of person using automated teller machine, first degree | 24 36 60 |
| 212.5(c ) | Robbery second degree | 24 36 60 |
| 215 | Carjacking | 36 60 108 |
| 220/261 | Assault with intent to commit rape | 24 48 72 |
| 243(c )(2) | Battery against peace officer with injury | 16 24 36 |
| 243.1 | Battery against custodial officer | 16 23 36 |
| 243.4(a)-(d) | Sexual battery | 24 36 48 |
| 244 | Assault with caustic chemicals | 24 36 48 |
| 245(a)(1) | ADW other than firearm or assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury on person | 24 36 48 |
| 245(a)(2) | Assault with firearm | 24 36 48 |
| 245(c ) | ADW other than firearm or assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury on peace officer/firefighter | 36 48 60 |
| 247.5 | Discharge laser at aircraft | 16 24 36 |
| 261(2) | Rape of victim by force, violence, or fear of bodily injury | 36 72 96 |
| 261(4) | Rape of victim unconscious of act | 36 72 96 |
| 261.5 | Unlawful sexual intercourse | 16 24 36 |
| 261.5(c ) | Unlawful sexual intercourse with minor more than 3 years younger than defendant | 16 24 36 |
| 262 | Spousal rape | 36 72 96 |
| 264.1 | Rape in concert | 60 84 108 |
| 266 | Seduction of minor for prostitution | 16 24 36 |
| 266c | Inducing commission of sexual act through false representation creating fear | 24 36 48 |
| 266h | Pimping | 36 48 72 |
| 266h(a) | Pimping | 36 48 72 |
| 266h | Pimping prostitute under 16 years old | 36 48 72 |
| 266i | Pandering | 36 48 72 |
| 266j | Transport minor under age 16 for lewd & lascivious act/cause minor to perform act | 36 72 96 |
| 271a | Willful abandonment or nonsupport of child under 14 years old | 16 24 36 |
| 273a(1) | Willful cruelty to child | 24 48 72 |
| 273a(a)(1) | Willful cruelty to child | 24 48 72 |
| 273a(a) | Willful cruelty to child | 24 48 72 |
| 273.5 | Inflict traumatic injury on spouse or cohabitant | 24 36 48 |
| 273.6 | Violation of protective order with pc | 16 24 36 |
| 274 | Administering illegal abortion | 16 24 36 |
| 278.5 | Child stealing in violation of custody order | 16 24 36 |
| 284 | Marrying spouse of another | 16 24 36 |
| 285 | Incest | 16 24 36 |
| 286(b)(1) | Sodomy victim under 18 years of age | 16 24 36 |
| 288(a) | Lewd and lascivious act with child under 14 years of age | 36 72 96 |
| 288(b) | Lewd and lascivious act with child under 14 committed by force, violence, etc. | 36 72 96 |
| 288(b)(1) | Lewd and lascivious act with child under 14 committed by force, violence, etc. | 36 72 96 |
| 288(b)(2) | Lewd or lascivious act by caretaker with dependent person by force, violence, etc. | 36 72 96 |
| 288a(b)(1) | Oral copulation victim under 18 years of age | 16 24 36 |
| 288a(c ) | Oral copulation victim under 14/defendant 10 years older or by force, violence, etc. | 36 72 96 |
| 288a(c )(1) | Oral copulation, victim under 14/defendant 10 years older | 36 72 96 |
| 289(a) | Sexual penetration with foreign object | 36 72 96 |
| 289(a) | Sexual penetration with foreign or unknown object | 36 72 96 |
| 290(g)(2) | Failure to register with two prior convictions | 16 24 36 |
| 290(g)(2) | Failure to register by person convicted of designated sex offenses | 16 24 36 |
| 290(g)(2) | Failure to register by person convicted of felony sex offenses with pc | 16 24 36 |
| 314(1) | Indecent exposure with previous conviction of section 314(1) or Penal Code section 288 | 16 24 36 |
| 314(1) | Indecent exposure after entering inhabited dwelling | 16 24 36 |
| 337c | Accepting bribe to throw sport event | 16 24 36 |
| 367f | Sale of human organs for transplantation | 36 48 60 |
| 461(1) | Burglary first degree | 24 48 72 |
| 461(2) | Burglary second degree | 16 24 36 |
| 496(1) | Receiving stolen property | 16 24 36 |
| 496(a) | Receiving stolen property | 16 24 36 |
| 530.5 | Using personal indentifying information of another to obtain credit, goods, services or medical information | 16 24 36 |
| 549 | Soliciting fraudulent insurance claims | 16 24 36 |
| 594(b)(1) | Vandalism of $50,000 or more | 16 24 36 |
| 594(b)(1) | Vandalism of $400 or more | 16 24 36 |
| 626.9(a) | Stalking | 16 24 36 |
| 647.6 | Child molestation, second or subsequent conviction | 16 24 36 |
| 653f(a) | Soliciting commission of crime not murder | 16 24 36 |
| 653f(b) | Soliciting murder | 36 72 108 |
| 653f(d) | Soliciting commission of drug offenses with pc | 16 24 36 |
| 664/190 | Attempted murder, second degree | 60 84 108 |
| 836.6 | Escape after being lawfully arrested or remanded to custody causing serious bodily injury to police officer | 24 36 48 |
| 1319.4 | Failure to appear on a felony | 16 24 36 |
| 1320(b) | Willful failure to appear felony hearing when released on own recognizance | 16 24 36 |
| 2772 | Interference with prisoner or delivery of forbidden items to prisoner | 16 24 36 |
| 4530(a) | Escape or attempted escape from prison with force or violence | 24 48 72 |
| 4532(b) | Escape or attempted escape from prison without force or violence | 16 24 36 |
| 4534 | Aiding or abetting escape | 16 24 36 |
| 11412 | Religious terrorism | 16 24 36 |
| 12021(a)(1) | Possession of firearm by addicts or felons | 16 24 36 |
| 12021(c ) | Possession of firearm within 10 years of certain misdemeanor convictions | 16 24 36 |
| 12021.1 | Possession of firearms by felon convicted of violent crimes | 16 24 36 |
| 12025(a) | Carrying concealed firearm on person or in vehicle and defendant is active participant in criminal street gang | 16 24 36 |
| 12101 | Possession of concealable firearm by minor with previous conviction | 16 24 36 |
| 12280(b) | Possession of assault weapon | 16 24 36 |
| 14166 | Money laundering | 16 24 36 |
Understanding the Third Column:
California has “Determinate Sentencing” laws. This means that if someone is convicted of a felony offense and sentenced to prison, the Judge may impose one of three prison terms: “low-term”, “mid-term” or “high-term.” These are “exact” or “determined” terms. This is different from States which use “Indeterminate Sentencing” laws, where you hear terms like “two-to-five” or “ten-to twenty.” This means the term is “not-determined” and can be anywhere from ten to twenty years as an example. Prior to 1977, California had indeterminate sentencing. For the past thirty years California has had determinate felony sentencing, and this chart will help you understand this system in a very specific way.
The term that is imposed depends on many factors:
- Discretion of the Judge
- Severity of the offense
- Criminal history of the defendant
- Other mitigating (less serious) or aggravating (more serious) factors.
Using the above example of grand theft in a general way, someone convicted of stealing ten thousand dollars as a first offense who has no prior record would be more likely to get the “low-term” of one year, four months, (or probation), whereas someone convicted of stealing one million dollars with a long prior record is more likely to get the “high-term” of three years. The mid-term would be likely for someone with a high theft amount and no prior or a prior for the same type of offense.
Important Note: Italicized offenses such as “273.5” (Spousal Abuse) are “wobblers” in California.
A wobbler is a crime that can be charged as a misdemeanor or as a felony.
An offense charged as a misdemeanor would not be punished according to this chart, as the maximum allowable sentence would be a fine and up to one year in the county jail. This is less than even the “low-term” on this chart. Some factors which determine if a case, such as spousal abuse, will be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony include the severity of the injury and prior convictions for this or other violent offenses.
People can be arrested on a wobbler as a felony and then be charged as a misdemeanor. This often happens in Los Angeles in first offense domestic violence cases. For more information read further on this site or call our office and speak to an attorney (310)477-2100.
