When jurisdiction is, by the Constitution or this Code, or by any other statute, conferred on a Court or judicial officer, all the means necessary to carry it into effect are also given; and in the exercise of this jurisdiction, if the course of proceeding be not specifically pointed out by this Code or the statute, any suitable process or mode of proceeding may be adopted which may appear most conformable to the spirit of this Code.
§ 187.Means to carry jurisdiction into effect
Title 2. Judicial Officers · Chapter 5. Miscellaneous Provisions Respecting Courts of Justice · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 187 gives a court all the means necessary to carry out any jurisdiction the Constitution, this code, or another statute confers, and lets the court adopt any suitable procedure consistent with the code’s spirit when no specific procedure is prescribed.
Full Text of § 187
Plain-English Summary
Section 187 is one of the broadest grants of authority in this chapter. Whenever the Constitution, this code, or any other statute gives a court jurisdiction over something, the section automatically supplies whatever means are necessary to carry that jurisdiction into effect — the grant of power is not left toothless just because the statute creating it did not spell out every procedural step.
The second half of the section is what makes it so often invoked: when no procedure is specifically prescribed for exercising a jurisdiction the court already has, the court may adopt any suitable process or mode of proceeding, so long as it conforms to the spirit of the code. That flexibility lets a court fashion a workable procedure for a novel situation, rather than being stuck without a mechanism because the Legislature never anticipated the exact scenario.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a court do when a statute gives it jurisdiction but no specific procedure to follow?
Section 187 lets the court adopt any suitable process or mode of proceeding that conforms to the spirit of the code.
Does Section 187 create new substantive jurisdiction for a court?
No. It supplies the procedural means to carry out jurisdiction already conferred by the Constitution, this code, or another statute; it does not itself grant new subject-matter authority.
Why is Section 187 cited so often in California litigation?
Because it fills procedural gaps — when the code or a statute is silent on how to exercise a jurisdiction the court has, Section 187 supplies the flexibility to adopt a suitable procedure rather than leaving the court without a mechanism.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872; Repealed and re-enacted Code Amdts 1880 ch 35 § 1.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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