9.11.7: California Penal Code 286

California Criminal Law 2026 · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    California Penal Code 286 is the state's sodomy law. Sodomy is any penetration, no matter how slight, of the anus of one person by the penis of another person. Ejaculation is not required. It prohibits anal sex without consent, and the state must prove that the act was performed with force and aggression.

    The US Supreme Court has held that statutes criminalizing sodomy between consenting adults unreasonably encroach on a right to privacy without a sufficient government interest (Lawrence v. Texas, 2011). Consensual nonforcible sodomy is criminal if it is committed in a state penitentiary or local detention facility or jail (California Penal Code § 286(c), 2024).

    This page titled 9.11.7: California Penal Code 286 was last modified on Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:20:47 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mark C Fields and Carmyn A. Radetic-Fields.