California Penal Code

§ 4576

PEN § 4576 Effective Oct 6, 2011Title 5 · Part 3 · Ch. 3

Statute text

(a)Except as otherwise authorized by law, or when authorized by either the person in charge of the prison or other institution under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or an officer of the institution empowered to give that authorization, a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM card) or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment.

(b)(1) If a person visiting an inmate or ward in the custody of the department, upon being searched or subjected to a metal detector, is found to be in possession of a cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a SIM card or memory storage device, that device or component shall be subject to confiscation but shall be returned on the same day the person visits the inmate or ward, unless the cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof is held as evidence in a case where the person is cited for a violation of subdivision (a).

(2)If, upon investigation, it is determined that no prosecution will take place, the cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof shall be returned to the owner at the owner’s expense.

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Legislative history

Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 500, Sec. 1. (SB 26) Effective October 6, 2011.