Cal. Codes » Penal Code / PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS / TITLE 13. OF CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY / CHAPTER 15. Malicious Injuries to Railroad Bridges, Highways, Bridges, and Telegraphs
California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 591 (2026)

Malicious Injuries to Railroad Bridges, Highways, Bridges, and Telegraphs

✓ leginfo export of Sept. 26, 2026 (applied Oct. 1, 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CA-LEGleginfo.legislature.ca.gov JustiaCode on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A person who unlawfully and maliciously takes down, removes, injures, disconnects, cuts, or obstructs a line of telegraph, telephone, or cable television, or any line used to conduct electricity, or any part thereof, or appurtenances or apparatus connected therewith, including, but not limited to, a backup deep cycle battery or other power supply, or severs any wire thereof, or makes an unauthorized connection with any line, other than a telegraph, telephone, or cable television line, used to conduct electricity, or any part thereof, or appurtenances or apparatus connected therewith, is subject to punishment by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine, or by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two or three years pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 16 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1968–2026 · leading case: Pedro Luis Cisneros-Perez v. Alberto R. Gonzales, 465 F.3d 386 (9th Cir. 2006).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Pedro Luis Cisneros-Perez v. Alberto R. Gonzales, 465 F.3d 386 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 2× “Notes: 1 Cisneros-Perez was also charged with violating California Penal Code section 591, which prohibits, in effect, tampering with telephone lines 2 California Penal Code section 243(e)(1) provides: When a battery is committed against a spouse, a person with whom the…”
Cisneros-Perez v. Gonzales, 451 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 2× “He was sentenced to thirty-six months proba- tion, time served, which was thirty-eight days in jail, and 1 Cisneros-Perez was also charged with violating California Penal Code section 591, which prohibits, in effect, tampering with telephone lines.”
People v. Quarles, 25 Cal. App. 5th 631 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018). “*50 *633 INTRODUCTION Defendant Jeffrey Lynn Quarles appeals from a judgment of damaging a telephone line or mechanical equipment connected to the line ( Pen. Code, § 591 ), 1 misdemeanor battery on an elder (§ 243.”
Leo F. Kreiling v. H. v. Field, 431 F.2d 638 (9th Cir. 1970). “PER CURIAM: Appellant, who conducted his own defense, and was convicted by a California state jury of two counts of obstructing telephones (Cal.Penal Code, § 591) and one count of burglary (Cal.”
People v. Kreiling, 259 Cal. App. 2d 699 (Cal. Ct. App. 1968). · cites it 2× “7 of the Penal Code, a special *701 misdemeanor statute; (2) Penal Code section 591 does not apply to the conduct of the appellant in putting a telephone instrument out of working condition, but solely to damage to or obstruction of a telephone line; and (3) the evidence was…”
People v. Hopkins, 44 Cal. App. 3d 669 (Cal. Ct. App. 1975). “Code, § 213); Count three: Malicious injury to telephone equipment (Pen. Code, § 591); and Count four: Assault with force likely to do great bodily harm (Pen.”
People v. Garber, 275 Cal. App. 2d 119 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969). “(b)); of conspiracy to commit the offense of unlawful use of telephone lines and equipment (Pen. Code, § 591); and of conspiracy to illegally wire tap.”
People v. Moore, 162 Cal. App. 3d 709 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984). “Code, § 10851), six counts of injuring a telephone line (Pen. Code, § 591), and one count of firing into an inhabited dwelling house (Pen.”
People v. Tafoya, 92 Cal. App. 4th 220 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001). “(b)); (4) count 4: injuring or obstructing a telephone line or apparatus (Pen. Code, § 591); and (5) count 5: dissuading a witness (Pen.”
Leo F. Kreiling v. H. v. Field, 431 F.2d 502 (9th Cir. 1970). · cites it 2× “PER CURIAM: Petitioner was convicted in a Superior Court of California by a jury verdict of maliciously obstructing a telephone apparatus, in violation of Cal. Penal Code § 591 . 1 The judgment was affirmed on appeal.”
Rogers v. Wong, 637 F. Supp. 2d 807 (E.D. Cal. 2009). “” CaLPenal Code § 591. The evidence presented, showing that Petitioner ordered Pribyl to disconnect the phone line, clearly established probable cause for a holding order.”
People v. Quarles, No. A152282 (Cal. Ct. App. July 26, 2018). “INTRODUCTION Defendant Jeffrey Lynn Quarles appeals from a judgment of damaging a telephone line or mechanical equipment connected to the line (Pen. Code, § 591),1 misdemeanor battery on an elder (§ 243.”
Show all 16 citing cases →
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.