Cal. Codes » Penal Code
California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 261.6 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CA-LEGleginfo.legislature.ca.gov JustiaCode on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a)In prosecutions under Section 261, 286, 287, or 289, or former Section 262 or 288a, in which consent is at issue, “consent” means positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will. The person must act freely and voluntarily and have knowledge of the nature of the act or transaction involved.

(b)A current or previous dating or marital relationship is not sufficient to constitute consent if consent is at issue in a prosecution under Section 261, 286, 287, or 289, or former Section 262 or 288a.

(c)This section shall not affect the admissibility of evidence or the burden of proof on the issue of consent.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1987–2025 · leading case: People v. Williams, 841 P.2d 961 (Cal. 1992).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Williams, 841 P.2d 961 (Cal. 1992). · cites it 2× “" (Pen. Code, § 261.6.) The complainant's "unequivocal conduct" may appear to the defendant and, indeed, to all the world as "positive cooperation in act or attitude.”
United States v. Ruiz-Apolonio, 657 F.3d 907 (9th Cir. 2011). “” California Penal Code § 261.6 defines “consent” as “positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will.”
People v. Van Hoek, 200 Cal. App. 3d 811 (Cal. Ct. App. 1988). “(a)) and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse (Pen. Code, § 261.6). Count I was charged and found as occurring on or about January 1983; count II was charged and found as occurring on or about April 1983; and the lewd and lascivious acts *813 in counts III, IV, V, VI and VII…”
Catchpole v. Brannon, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4931 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995). “) 11 Penal Code section 261.6 provides, inter alia, that “In prosecutions under Section 261 [rape], 262 [spousal rape], 286 [sodomy], 288a [oral copulation], or 289 [penetration by a foreign object], in which consent is at issue, ‘consent’ shall be defined to mean positive…”
State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Eddy, 218 Cal. App. 3d 958 (Cal. Ct. App. 1990). “” (Pen. Code, § 261.6.) Although “ ‘if deception causes a misunderstanding as to the fact itself (fraud in the factum) there is no legally-recognized consent because what happened is not that for which consent was given; .”
Ivan Valdez Amador v. Merrick Garland, 28 F.4th 72 (9th Cir. 2022). “” Cal. Penal Code § 261.6 (a) (emphasis added).”
People v. Ogunmola, 193 Cal. App. 3d 274 (Cal. Ct. App. 1987). “” (Pen. Code, § 261.6.) In People v. Minkowski (1962) 204 Cal.”
People v. Thompson, 2006 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8770 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006). “” (Pen. Code, § 261.6.) Again, the jury was so instructed.”
People v. Vukodinovich, 238 Cal. App. 4th 166 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). “” (Pen. Code, § 261.6.) 2 All further section references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.”
People v. Ganthner CA3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “) In rejecting the defendant’s argument, the court stated: “Penal Code section 261.6 provides: ‘In prosecutions under Section 261, 286, 288a, or 289, in which consent is at issue, “consent” shall be defined to mean positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise…”
In Re R.R. Ca5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025). “…” (Pen. Code, § 261.6, subd. (a).) 1. Substantial Evidence of Force Minor argues there is insufficient evidence of force necessary for both the forcible rape and oral copulation counts the juvenile court found true.”
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.