A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned or who aids, counsels, or procures the burning of, any structure, forest land, or property.
(a)Arson that causes great bodily injury is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for five, seven, or nine years.
(b)Arson that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.
(c)Arson of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years.
(d)Arson of property is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or three years. For purposes of this paragraph, arson of property does not include one burning or causing to be burned his or her own personal property unless there is an intent to defraud or there is injury to another person or another person’s structure, forest land, or property.
(e)In the case of any person convicted of violating this section while confined in a state prison, prison road camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm, or while confined in a county jail while serving a term of imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanor conviction, any sentence imposed shall be consecutive to the sentence for which the person was then confined.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
224
cases (
73 in the last 5 years), 1981–2026 · leading case:
Douglas v. Jacquez, 626 F.3d 501 (9th Cir. 2010).
Douglas v. Jacquez, 626 F.3d 501 (9th Cir. 2010).
· cites it 8× “Gordon Andrew Douglas was convicted by a California jury of one count of first-degree murder in violation of California Penal Code § 187, and a separate count of arson of an inhabited structure in violation of California Penal Code § 451(b). The evidence at trial established…”
Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003).
· cites it 2× “It imposes, for example, upon nonrecidivists guilty of arson causing great bodily injury a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 451(a) (West 1999) (prison term of 5, 7, or 9 years for arson that causes great bodily injury); it imposes upon those…”
People v. V.V., 252 P.3d 979 (Cal. 2011).
· cites it 4× “committed the crimes of arson of a forest land (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (c))1 and recklessly causing a fire (§ 452, subd.”
People v. Mitchell, 26 P.3d 1040 (Cal. 2001).
“The informations also alleged that he had sustained convictions in 1983 for *184 arson of an inhabited structure (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (a)) 1 and arson of a structure (§ 451, subd.”
People v. Goolsby, 244 Cal. App. 4th 1220 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 6× “As a result, he was convicted of arson of an inhabited structure (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (b)), with a multiple-structure enhancement (Pen.”
Longinos Togonon v. Merrick Garland, 23 F.4th 876 (9th Cir. 2022).
· cites it 16× “GARLAND SUMMARY * Immigration Granting Longinos Togonon’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the panel held that arson in violation of California Penal Code § 451 is not a categorical match to its federal counterpart, 18 U.”
Doe v. Saenz, 45 Cal. Rptr. 3d 126 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006).
· cites it 2× “11 The Department’s interpretation of the exemption statutes treats both arson causing great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (a)) and arson of an inhabited structure (Pen.”
United States v. Noster, 590 F.3d 624 (9th Cir. 2009).
· cites it 2× “§ 844 (i) (providing a five-year minimum sentence for the destruction or attempted destruction of any building used in interstate commerce by means of an explosive device); Cal. Pen.Code §§ 451 and 455 (providing that arson and attempted arson are felonies).”
People v. Vang, 1 Cal. App. 5th 377 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 4× “” Where the structure or property burned is ‘“inhabited,” the crime is ‘“a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.”
State v. Azad Haji Abdullah, 348 P.3d 1 (Idaho 2015).
“” Compare CalPenal Code § 451 (“A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned .”
United States v. Knight, 606 F.3d 171 (4th Cir. 2010).
“, Cal.Penal Code §§ 451 ("set[ting] fire to or burn[ing]”) with, e.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 451(a) — 1 case
Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003).
“It imposes, for example, upon nonrecidivists guilty of arson causing great bodily injury a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 451(a) (West 1999) (prison term of 5, 7, or 9 years for arson that causes great bodily injury); it imposes upon those…”
— Cal. Penal Code § 451(b) — 9 cases
Douglas v. Jacquez, 626 F.3d 501 (9th Cir. 2010).
“Gordon Andrew Douglas was convicted by a California jury of one count of first-degree murder in violation of California Penal Code § 187, and a separate count of arson of an inhabited structure in violation of California Penal Code § 451(b). The evidence at trial established…”
Longinos Togonon v. Merrick Garland, 23 F.4th 876 (9th Cir. 2022).
“GARLAND SUMMARY * Immigration Granting Longinos Togonon’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, the panel held that arson in violation of California Penal Code § 451 is not a categorical match to its federal counterpart, 18 U.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 451(c) — 4 cases
Douglas v. Jacquez, 626 F.3d 501 (9th Cir. 2010).
“Gordon Andrew Douglas was convicted by a California jury of one count of first-degree murder in violation of California Penal Code § 187, and a separate count of arson of an inhabited structure in violation of California Penal Code § 451(b). The evidence at trial established…”
— Cal. Penal Code § 451(d) — 2 cases
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