Pen. Code, § 1151 · Chapter 4. The Verdict or Finding
Pen. Code, § 1151
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
A general verdict upon a plea of not guilty is either “guilty” or “not guilty,” which imports a conviction or acquittal of the offense charged in the accusatory pleading. Upon a plea of a former conviction or acquittal of the offense charged, or upon a plea of once in jeopardy, the general verdict is either “for the people” or “for the defendant.” When the defendant is acquitted on the ground of a variance between the accusatory pleading and the proof, the verdict is “not guilty by reason of variance between charge and proof.”
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1674.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=1151.
- Text hash
- sha256 37c05fb903f8d2e6898f9fefeebf68b27b55388c71ceb52f750c74b5dd2b726a
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.