In re M.C. CA5

DISCUSSION

Minor contends his disposition violates Penal Code section 654 because the assault and criminal threat were part of the same indivisible course of conduct. We accept the People’s concession that Penal Code section 654 applies. When a minor is removed from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian as a result of criminal violations sustained under Welfare and Institutions section 602, the juvenile court must specify a maximum term of confinement. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 726, subd. (d)(1).) When the court elects to calculate the maximum term of confinement by aggregating the periods of physical confinement on multiple counts and/or multiple petitions (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 726, subd. (d)(3)), Penal Code section 654’s prohibition against multiple punishment applies to this determination. (In re Billy M. (1983) 139 Cal.App.3d 973, 978; In re Robert W. (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 32, 34.) Penal Code section 654 “generally precludes multiple punishments for a single physical act that violates different provisions of law [citation] as well as multiple punishments for an indivisible course of conduct that violates more than one criminal statute [citations].” (People v.…