Error and/or relief
The trial court erred by not staying the term for conspiracy to commit murder.
Holding:
Section 654 provides that an act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of the law may be punished under either of such provisions, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision.
The statute has long been interpreted to preclude multiple punishments not only for a single act that violates more than one statute, but for an indivisible course of conduct. In particular, a defendant may not be punished for both murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Thus, the sentence on the conspiracy count must be stayed.
Authority:
PEN 654
People v. Mejia (2017) 9 Cal.App.5th 1036, 1042
People v. Hernandez (2003) 30 Cal.4th 835, 866
People v. Vu (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 1009, 1032–1033
People v. Alford (2010) 180 Cal.App.4th 1463, 1472