Error and/or relief
Under section 654, the trial court should have stayed the sentence imposed on either of two counts, each of which was based on the same assault and committed with the same intent and objective.
First Holding:
Penal Code section 654 prohibits punishment under more than one provision for any act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law. This section applies not only where there was but one act in the ordinary sense, but also where there was a course of conduct which violated more than one statute but nevertheless constituted an indivisible transaction. Whether a course of conduct is indivisible depends upon the intent and objective of the actor. If all the offenses were incident to one objective, the defendant may be punished for any one of such offenses but not for more than one.
Authority:
PEN 654
People v. Corpening (2016) 2 Cal.5th 307, 309
People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 551
Second Holding:
Whether a defendant possessed a single intent and objective is a factual question subject to substantial evidence review on appeal. However, where the facts are undisputed, whether Penal Code section 654 precludes multiple punishment is a legal question, subject to de novo review.
Authority:
People v. Perez (1979) 23 Cal.3d 545, 552, fn. 5
People v. Moseley (2008) 164 Cal.App.4th 1598, 1603
People v. Goode (2015) 243 Cal.App.4th 484, 493
People v. Pitts (1990) 223 Cal.App.3d 1547, 1552, 1560 [multiple punishment precluded where mayhem and assault convictions were based on a course of conduct in which the defendant threw the victim down, punched her, took a box cutter that she tried to use to defend herself, and used the weapon to slash the victim]
Third Holding:
A course of conduct divisible in time, although directed to one objective, may give rise to multiple violations and punishment.
Authority:
People v. Beamon (1973) 8 Cal.3d 625, 639, fn. 11
People v. Kwok (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 1236, 1253