Cal. PEN § 1487
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 1487, 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
If it appears on the return of the writ that the prisoner is in custody by virtue of process from any Court of this State, or Judge or officer thereof, such prisoner may be discharged in any of the following cases, subject to the restrictions of the last section:
1. When the jurisdiction of such Court or officer has been exceeded;
2. When the imprisonment was at first lawful, yet by some act, omission, or event which has taken place afterwards, the party has become entitled to a discharge;
3. When the process is defective in some matter of substance required by law, rendering such process void;
4. When the process, though proper in form, has been issued in a case not allowed by law;
5. When the person having the custody of the prisoner is not the person allowed by law to detain him;
6. Where the process is not authorized by any order, judgment, or decree of any Court, nor by any provision of law;
7. Where a party has been committed on a criminal charge without reasonable or probable cause.
1. When the jurisdiction of such Court or officer has been exceeded;
2. When the imprisonment was at first lawful, yet by some act, omission, or event which has taken place afterwards, the party has become entitled to a discharge;
3. When the process is defective in some matter of substance required by law, rendering such process void;
4. When the process, though proper in form, has been issued in a case not allowed by law;
5. When the person having the custody of the prisoner is not the person allowed by law to detain him;
6. Where the process is not authorized by any order, judgment, or decree of any Court, nor by any provision of law;
7. Where a party has been committed on a criminal charge without reasonable or probable cause.
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.