California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 190.1 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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A case in which the death penalty may be imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be tried in separate phases as follows:

(a)The question of the defendant’s guilt shall be first determined. If the trier of fact finds the defendant guilty of first degree murder, it shall at the same time determine the truth of all special circumstances charged as enumerated in Section 190.2 except for a special circumstance charged pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 190.2 where it is alleged that the defendant had been convicted in a prior proceeding of the offense of murder in the first or second degree.

(b)If the defendant is found guilty of first degree murder and one of the special circumstances is charged pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 190.2 which charges that the defendant had been convicted in a prior proceeding of the offense of murder of the first or second degree, there shall thereupon be further proceedings on the question of the truth of such special circumstance.

(c)If the defendant is found guilty of first degree murder and one or more special circumstances as enumerated in Section 190.2 has been charged and found to be true, his sanity on any plea of not guilty by reason of insanity under Section 1026 shall be determined as provided in Section 190.4. If he is found to be sane, there shall thereupon be further proceedings on the question of the penalty to be imposed. Such proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Section 190.3 and 190.4.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 99 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1958–2025 · leading case: Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968).
Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968). · cites it 4× “[3] Cal. Pen. Code § 190.1 (1967 Supp.); N. Y.”
Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976). · cites it 2× “1975); Cal. Penal Code §§ 190.1 , 209, 219 (Supp.”
McGautha v. California, 402 U.S. 183 (1971). · cites it 5× “If such person has been found guilty of an offense punishable by life imprisonment or death, and has been found sane on any plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, there shall thereupon be further proceedings on the issue of penalty, and the trier of fact shall fix the penalty.”
United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968). · cites it 4× “[16] See Cal. Penal Code § 190.1 (Supp. 1966); Conn.”
Marshall v. Lonberger, 459 U.S. 422 (1983). · cites it 2× “§ 41-1301 (1977); Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 190.1 (West Supp. 1982); Colo.”
People v. Capistrano, 331 P.3d 201 (Cal. 2014). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, §§ 190.1, 190.3; all undesignated statutory references are to this code.”
People v. Lang, 782 P.2d 627 (Cal. 1989). · cites it 2× “This appeal is from a judgment of death under the 1978 death penalty law (Pen. Code, § 190.1 et seq.; all further statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated).”
People v. Fields, 673 P.2d 680 (Cal. 1983). · cites it 2× “Penal Code section 190.1 provides that the question of the defendant's guilt shall first be determined.”
People v. Morris, 807 P.2d 949 (Cal. 1991). · cites it 2× “This is an appeal from a judgment of death under the 1978 death penalty law (Pen. Code, § 190.1 et seq.; all further statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated).”
People v. Diaz, 834 P.2d 1171 (Cal. 1992). · cites it 2× “(a) ["If the trier of fact finds the defendant guilty of *577 first degree murder, it shall at the same time determine the truth of all special circumstances" charged, except as to an allegation under § 190.2, subd. (a)(2); italics added.”
People v. Malone, 762 P.2d 1249 (Cal. 1988). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, § 190.1 et seq.; see id., § 1239, *12 subd.”
People v. Guzman, 755 P.2d 917 (Cal. 1988). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, § 190.1 et seq.; see id., § 1239, subd.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 190.1(a) — 2 cases
Pensinger v. California, 502 U.S. 930 (1991).
(DP) Catlin v. Davis (E.D. Cal. 2019).
— Cal. Penal Code § 190.1(b) — 3 cases
Allen v. Woodford, 366 F.3d 823 (9th Cir. 2004).
Allen v. Woodford (9th Cir. 2005).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.