Statutory Penalty Law and Legal Definition
Statutory penalty is a penalty imposed for a statutory violation. It is the penalty that the statute prescribes for its violation. It can be a fine, prison sentence, or both, imposed against a wrongdoer for violation of statutory provisions. It imposes automatic liability on the wrongdoer for violating the statute’s terms without reference to any actual damages suffered.
Example of a state statute prescribing penalty:
Cal Pen Code § 405; Punishment of riot.
Every person who participates in any riot is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
