Cal. PEN § 1051
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 1051, 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
Upon a trial for any offense, if a defense witness testifies, there shall be good cause for a reasonable continuance unless the court finds that the prosecutor was or should, with due diligence, have been aware of such evidence. If the continuance is granted because of the defendant’s testimony, it shall not exceed one day.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in California?
See all California Criminal Defense lawyers
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.