Cal. PEN § 1001.51

This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 1001.51, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

(a) This chapter shall apply whenever a case is before any court upon an accusatory pleading concerning the commission of a misdemeanor, except a misdemeanor specified in subdivision (b), and it appears to the court that all of the following apply to the defendant:

(1) The defendant’s record does not indicate that probation or parole has ever been revoked without thereafter being completed.

(2) The defendant’s record does not indicate that he has been diverted pursuant to this chapter within five years prior to the filing of the accusatory pleading which charges the divertible offense.

(3) The defendant has never been convicted of a felony, and has not been convicted of a misdemeanor within five years prior to the filing of the accusatory pleading which charges the divertible offense.

(b) This chapter shall not apply to any pretrial diversion or posttrial program otherwise established by this code, nor shall this chapter be deemed to authorize any pretrial diversion or posttrial program for any person alleged to have committed a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 of the Vehicle Code.

(c) This chapter shall not apply whenever the accusatory pleading charges the commission of a misdemeanor:

(1) For which incarceration would be mandatory upon conviction of the defendant.

(2) For which registration would be required pursuant to Section 290 upon conviction of the defendant.

(3) Which the magistrate determines shall be prosecuted as a misdemeanor pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 17.

(4) Which involves the use of force or violence against a person, unless the charge is of a violation of Section 241 or 243.

(5) For which the granting of probation is prohibited.

(6) Which is a driving offense punishable as a misdemeanor pursuant to the Vehicle Code.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.