Justia Criminal Law Center California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) (2025) Criminal Threats and Hate Crimes CALCRIM No. 1350. Hate Crime: Misdemeanor Interference With Civil Rights by Force (Pen. Code, § 422.6(a))

CALCRIM No. 1350. Hate Crime: Misdemeanor Interference With Civil Rights by Force (Pen. Code, § 422.6(a))

Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2025 edition)

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B. HATE CRIMES

1350.Hate Crime: Misdemeanor Interference With Civil Rights by

Force (Pen. Code, § 422.6(a))

The defendant is charged [in Count ] with interfering with

another person’s civil rights by the use of force [in violation of Penal

Code section 422.6(a)].

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must

prove that:

1. The defendant used force to willfully interfere with[, or injure,

intimidate, or oppress,] another person’s free exercise or

enjoyment of the right [or privilege] to <describe the

right allegedly infringed, e.g., “be free from violence or bodily

harm”>, established by the law or Constitution of California or

the United States;

2. The defendant did so in whole or in part because of the other

person’s actual or perceived (disability[,]/ [or] gender[,]/ [or]

nationality[,]/ [or] race or ethnicity[,]/ [or] religion[,]/ [or] sexual

orientation[,]/ [or] association with a person or group having

(this/one or more of these) actual or perceived characteristic[s]);

AND

3. The defendant intended to interfere with the other person’s

legally protected right [or privilege].

Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on

purpose.

The defendant acted in whole or in part because of the actual or

perceived characteristic[s] of the other person if:

1. The defendant was biased against the other person based on the

other person’s actual or perceived (disability[,]/ [or] gender[,]/

[or] nationality[,]/ [or] race or ethnicity[,]/ [or] religion[,]/ [or]

sexual orientation[,]/ [or] association with a person or group

having (this/one or more of these) actual or perceived

characteristic[s]);

AND

2. The bias motivation caused the defendant to commit the alleged

acts.

If you find that the defendant had more than one reason to commit the

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alleged acts, the bias described here must have been a substantial

motivating factor. A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote

factor. However, it does not need to be the only factor that motivated the

conduct.

[The term disability is explained in Instruction 1353, to which you should

refer.]

[Gender, as used here, means sex and includes a person’s gender identity

and gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not

stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.]

[Nationality, as used here, means country of origin, immigration status,

including citizenship, and national origin.]

[Race or ethnicity includes ancestry, color, and ethnic background.]

[Religion, as used here, includes all aspects of religious belief,

observance, and practice and includes agnosticism and atheism.]

[Sexual orientation means heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.]

[Association with a person or group having (this/one or more of these)

actual or perceived characteristic[s] includes (advocacy for[,]/ [or]

identification with[,]/ [or] being on the ground owned or rented by[, or

adjacent to,]) a (person[,]/ [or] group[,]/ [or] family[,]/ [or] community

center[,]/ [or] educational facility[,]/ [or] office[,]/ [or] meeting hall[,]/

[or] place of worship[,]/ [or] private institution[,]/ [or] public agency[,]/

[or] library[,]/ [or] other entity) that has, or is identified with people who

have, (that/one or more of those) characteristic[s].]

New January 2006; Revised March 2017, March 2022

BENCH NOTES

Instructional Duty

The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction defining the elements of the

crime.

If the prosecution is based on the defendant’s speech alone, do not give this

instruction. (Pen. Code, § 422.6(c); In re M.S. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 698, 711-716 [42

Cal.Rptr.2d 355, 896 P.2d 1365].) Give CALCRIM No. 1351, Hate Crime:

Misdemeanor Interference With Civil Rights by Threat.

In element 1, insert a description of the specific right or rights allegedly infringed,

for example, the right to be free from violence or the threat of violence or the right

to be protected from bodily harm. (See Civil Code, §§ 43, 51.7; People v. Lashley

(1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 938, 950-951 [2 Cal.Rptr.2d 629]; People v. MacKenzie

(1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 1256, 1277-1278 [40 Cal.Rptr.2d 793].)

Give all relevant bracketed definitions. If the term “disability” is used, give

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CALCRIM No. 1353, Hate Crime: Disability Defined.

Do not give CALCRIM No. 370, Motive, with this instruction because motive is an

element of this crime. (See People v. Valenti (2016) 243 Cal.App.4th 1140, 1165

[197 Cal.Rptr.3d 317]; People v. Maurer (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1121, 1126-1127

[38 Cal.Rptr.2d 335].)

AUTHORITY

• Elements. Pen. Code, § 422.6(a).

• Willfully Defined. Pen. Code, § 7(1); People v. Lara (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 102,

107 [51 Cal.Rptr.2d 402].

• Hate Crime Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.55.

• “In Whole or in Part Because of” Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(d); In re M.S.

(1995) 10 Cal.4th 698, 719-720 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 355, 896 P.2d 1365]; People v.

Superior Court (Aishman) (1995) 10 Cal.4th 735, 741 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 377, 896

P.2d 1387].

• Disability Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(b); Gov. Code, § 12926(i)-(l).

• Gender Defined. Pen. Code, §§ 422.56(c), 422.57.

• Nationality Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(e).

• Race or Ethnicity Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(f).

• Religion Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(g).

• Sexual Orientation Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(h).

• Association With Defined. Pen. Code, § 422.56(a).

• Specific Intent to Deprive Individual of Protected Right Required. In re M.S.

(1995) 10 Cal.4th 698, 713 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 355, 896 P.2d 1365]; People v.

Lashley (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 938, 947-949 [2 Cal.Rptr.2d 629].

• Not Limited to “Significant Constitutional Rights.” People v. MacKenzie (1995)

34 Cal.App.4th 1256, 1277-1278 [40 Cal.Rptr.2d 793].

• Statute Constitutional. In re M.S. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 698, 715-717, 724 [42

Cal.Rptr.2d 355, 896 P.2d 1365].

RELATED ISSUES

Defendant Need Not Know He or She Is Violating the Law

“ ‘[S]pecific intent’ under the statute does not require an actual awareness on the

part of the defendant that he is violating another’s constitutional rights. It is enough

that he engages in activity that interferes with rights clearly and specifically

protected by the laws of the United States.” (People v. Lashley (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th

938, 948 [2 Cal.Rptr.2d 629].) “It is sufficient if the right is clearly defined and that

the defendant intended to invade interests protected by constitutional or statutory

authority.” (Id. at p. 949.)

Penal Code Section 654

In In re M.S. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 698, 727 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 355, 896 P.2d 1365], the

court rejected the argument that Penal Code section 654 does not apply to

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convictions under Penal Code section 422.6. In 2004, the Legislature amended the

statute to add subdivision (d), which specifically states that Penal Code section 654

applies to convictions under Penal Code section 422.6.

SECONDARY SOURCES

2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against Public

Peace and Welfare, §§ 505, 506.

5 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 91,

Sentencing, § 91.44 (Matthew Bender).

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Page last reviewed April 2025