Kidnapping Laws in California - Penal Code 207 PC
California Penal Code 207 PC defines the felony crime of kidnapping as moving another person a substantial distance, without their consent, by means of force or fear.
Simple kidnapping is a felony punishable by up to eight years in state prison. Still, the sentence can be life in prison if the victim is a child, the victim is injured or killed, a ransom is demanded, or the kidnapping is part of a carjacking.
The entire text of PC 207 says, "(a) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in this state, and carries the person into another country, state, or county, or another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping.
(b) Every person who, for the purpose of committing any act defined in Section 288, hires, persuades, entices, decoys, or seduces by false promises, misrepresentations, or the like, any child under the age of 14 years to go out of this country, state, or county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping.
(c) Every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, takes or holds, detains, or arrests any person, with a design to take the person out of this state, without having established a claim, according to the laws of the United States, or of this state, or who hires, persuades, entices, decoys, or seduces by false promises, misrepresentations, or the like, any person to go out of this state, or to be taken or removed from that place, for the purpose and with the intent to sell that person into slavery or involuntary servitude, or otherwise to employ that person for their use, or to the use of another, without the free will and consent of that persuaded person, is guilty of kidnapping.
(d) Every person who, being out of this state, abducts or takes by force or fraud any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed and brings, sends, or conveys that person within the limits of this state, and is afterward found within the limits thereof, is guilty of kidnapping.
(e) For purposes of those types of kidnapping requiring force, the amount of force required to kidnap an unresisting infant or child is the amount of physical force required to take and carry the child away a substantial distance for an illegal purpose or with an illegal intent.
(f) Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to any of the following:
(1) To any person who steals, takes, entices away, detains, conceals, or harbors any child under the age of 14 years if that act is taken to protect the child from danger of imminent harm. (2) To any person acting under Section 834 or 837."
In California, kidnapping is a serious felony offense that demands a strong, aggressive, and confident defense lawyer. Our team has extensive experience in handling kidnapping cases and a proven track record of achieving favorable outcomes for our clients. With the right legal representation, you can navigate the complexities of the law and ensure your rights are protected.
As noted, California Penal Code section 207, referred to as simple kidnapping, occurs when you move another person without their consent.
If you used force, threat, or fraud, the victim was under 14 years old, you held the victim for ransom, the victim suffered bodily harm or death, or the kidnap occurred during a carjacking. You will be charged with aggravated kidnapping, which has harsher penalties than a simple kidnapping. To be convicted, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:
- The defendant took, detained, or held another person by using force/fear/fraud.
- The defendant moved the person or made the person move a distance that is more than slight (whether the distance moved is sufficient is a matter to be considered by the jury).
- The person did not give consent to the movement.
- The defendant did not have a reasonable or actual belief that the person consented to the movement.
Will You Get Life in Prison?
I've handled hundreds of California Penal Code 207 PC kidnapping charges over the years, and I'll tell you, most of these charges are over-filed. Meaning that prosecutors should never be filing for kidnapping, but they're so angry with what they see in the police report that they decide to put the screws on a particular defendant.
It's important to note that you will only face life imprisonment if you're charged under Penal Code Section 209 – the specific section that carries this severe penalty. Penal Code Section 207, on the other hand, does not carry a life sentence. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for anyone facing a kidnapping charge.
So, first, you must be charged with the correct Penal Code Section to get a chance at life. I don't see many people getting life in a kidnapping case, but it depends on the circumstances.
The kidnappings they're trying to give people life relate to kidnapping children – where they're trying to take the child and keep the child, versus someone who's the child's parent and is just disobeying a court order.
You shouldn't do that, but that's not the type of kidnapping; in my opinion, that should garner a life sentence.
Also, if you have a horrible criminal record and prior strikes and pick up a kidnapping, you'd be facing a life sentence because prosecutors and judges don't mess around with those types of cases.
In my opinion, you also have to be trying to kidnap somebody. Sometimes, you have people moving another person to commit another crime. They're not kidnapping. They never intend to keep the person.
They're just moving them to commit another crime, and many times, whatever they're doing in the kidnapping is part and parcel of the crime they're being charged with.
For example, robbery. They move some people inside a store, and now they're suddenly charged with theft and kidnapping. That's a robbery case, in my opinion. That's not a kidnapping case.
So, if you or a loved one is charged with kidnapping, you can see it can get a little bit complicated, but you also have some play here if you've got the right criminal defense attorney.
When it comes to devising the best strategy for your case, it's all about the facts and circumstances. You need a defense attorney who can not only negotiate these cases but also win them if they're over-filed. With the right representation, a positive outcome is within reach.
If you or a loved one is charged with kidnapping, you need a champion on your side—someone who can fight the prosecutor tooth and nail. Someone who can negotiate with the prosecutors—who has connections with the upper echelon prosecutors—knows how to deal with the judges in these cases and how to fight these kidnapping cases.
Again, many are overfiled. They're not fair, but you can shout from the rafters that it's not fair. So you better bring in somebody who can fight and get it dismissed if it's not fair.
With the right legal representation, you can negotiate with the prosecutors to dismiss the charges and offer a fair resolution. Even in the face of unfair charges, there's hope for a just outcome.
How to Get the Best Result in a Kidnapping Case?
For those charged with California Penal Code 207 PC kidnapping, many times they might be accessible on bail or might have a loved one looking for an attorney to help them, and getting the best result is undoubtedly at the top of their mind.
I've been doing this now for 30 years. I've handled many kidnapping cases. Sometimes, my clients are facing life. Sometimes, they're not facing life but much prison time.
So, when you're looking at these cases, you're looking at them hard and first seeing whether or not you might have a defense to the case. Sometimes, there are circumstances where somebody's got a good defense to a kidnapping case, which we want to look into.
One of the first things that I would do as your defense attorney is to determine if we have some defense for your case that we can utilize to determine the best move for you and your situation.
What we'll have you do is come into my office. We'll sit down, go over everything, and talk about the ins and outs of your case, and we'll figure out number one:
- If it's a case that's defensible;
- Do we need to do the preliminary hearing?
- Can we take the case to trial and win it?
If we decide it is defensible, we will move toward defending the case. Then, we will set up an investigative game plan that makes sense for you and your circumstances.
Mitigation
If, on the other hand, we determine that your case needs to be mitigated and resolved, we'll examine it and decide whether the prosecutors have a strong case for kidnapping.
In legal terms, a 'defensible' case means we believe we can successfully argue your innocence. In contrast, a case that 'needs to be mitigated' means we may need to negotiate a plea deal or other resolution with the prosecutors.
Maybe there's a crime there. Perhaps it's a severe crime, but maybe it's not a kidnapping. Because for kidnapping, you have to be taking somebody, moving them a distance, and in my opinion, based on the case law, you've got to be trying to kidnap them and bring them somewhere.
Sometimes, something else is going on in these cases. Unfortunately, the prosecutors twist the case into kidnapping to have much leverage against you to get some other charge.
The prosecutors can say they look; your client is facing life, Penal Code Section 209, with this type of kidnapping. If you don't take this deal, go to trial, and lose, the judge must give your client a life sentence. That's the type of power these guys sometimes have.
Let's sit down, and we'll go over everything. First, could you tell me the truth about what happened? Then I will get the other side of it – talk to the prosecutor. Look at the prosecutor and ask, what kind of evidence do you have against my client? I don't think this is a kidnapping case.
Then I will shut my mouth, and let's see what they say. Now, we'll have the framework of their case, and we can discuss it and decide whether this is a kidnapping case.
So, if you want the best, if everything is on the line, and I believe it is if you or a loved one is charged with kidnapping, you've come to the right place. So, pick up the phone now. Make the call.
Let's discuss everything and create a game plan for you and your situation. Could you use my experience? I've traveled the road you're about to travel and have succeeded. Pick up the phone now. Call the Hedding Law Firm. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.
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