Section 1515 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

Property: Trash
Burning trash that does not belong to the defendant is arson. There is no
requirement for arson that the property belong to anyone. (In re L.T. (2002) 103
Cal.App.4th 262, 264 [126 Cal.Rptr.2d 778].)
Dual Convictions Prohibited
A single act of arson cannot result in convictions under different subdivisions of
Penal Code section 451. (People v. Shiga (2019) 34 Cal.App.5th 466, 475 [246
Cal.Rptr.3d 198].)
SECONDARY SOURCES
2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against
Property, §§ 268–276.
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 143, Crimes
Against Property, § 143.11 (Matthew Bender).
1516–1519.
Reserved for Future Use
CALCRIM No. 1515
ARSON
1088

(1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 161, 166–167 [270 Cal.Rptr. 389].
LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSES
•
Unlawfully Causing a Fire. Pen. Code, § 452.
RELATED ISSUES
See the Related Issues sections under CALCRIM No. 1515, Arson, and CALCRIM
No. 1532, Unlawfully Causing a Fire.
SECONDARY SOURCES
2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against
Property, §§ 268–276.
5 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 91,
Sentencing, § 91.47[2] (Matthew Bender).
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 143, Crimes
Against Property, § 143.11 (Matthew Bender).
ARSON
CALCRIM No. 1530
1093

defraud, or the fire also injures another person or another person’s
structure, forest land, or property.]
[Arson and unlawfully causing a fire require different mental states. For
arson, a person must act willfully and maliciously. For unlawfully
causing a fire, a person must act recklessly.]
New January 2006
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to give an instruction defining the elements of the
crime.
If the prosecution’s theory is that the defendant did not set the fire but rather “aided,
counseled or procured” the fire, the court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on
aiding and abetting. (People v. Sarkis (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 23, 28 [272 Cal.Rptr.
34].) See CALCRIM Nos. 400–403.
Depending upon the theory of recklessness the prosecutor is alleging, the court
should instruct with alternative A or B.
If the defendant is also charged with arson, the court may wish to give the last
bracketed paragraph, which explains the difference in intent between unlawfully
causing a fire and arson. (People v. Hooper (1986) 181 Cal.App.3d 1174, 1182 [226
Cal.Rptr. 810], disapproved of in People v. Barton (1995) 12 Cal.4th 186 [47
Cal.Rptr.2d 569, 906 P.2d 531] on the point that defense counsel’s objection to
instruction on lesser included offense constituted invited error]; People v. Schwartz
(1992) 2 Cal.App.4th 1319, 1324 [3 Cal.Rptr.2d 816].)
AUTHORITY
•
Elements. Pen. Code, § 452.
•
Inhabited Defined. Pen. Code, § 450; People v. Guthrie (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d
832, 838, 848 [193 Cal.Rptr. 54]; People v. Jones (1988) 199 Cal.App.3d 543
[245 Cal.Rptr. 85].
•
Structure, Forest Land Defined. Pen. Code