Pen. Code, § 871 · Chapter 7. Examination of the Case, and Discharge of the Defendant, or Holding Him to Answer
Pen. Code, § 871
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
If, after hearing the proofs, it appears either that no public offense has been committed or that there is not sufficient cause to believe the defendant guilty of a public offense, the magistrate shall order the complaint dismissed and the defendant to be discharged, by an indorsement on the depositions and statement, signed by the magistrate, to the following effect: “There being no sufficient cause to believe the within named A. B. guilty of the offense within mentioned, I order that the complaint be dismissed and that he or she shall be discharged.”
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 938, Sec. 3.
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=871.
- Text hash
- sha256 6177c6fbe1bb9920e1e94457a198295f2d6d554c018992e6e0f566748cf8aed3
- 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
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 871. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Penal Code
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.