If sessions of the superior court are held in a location other than the county seat, the names for master jury lists and qualified jury lists to serve in a session may be selected from the area in which the session is held, pursuant to a local superior court rule that divides the county in a manner that provides all qualified persons in the county an equal opportunity to be considered for jury service. Nothing in this section precludes the court, in its discretion, from ordering a countywide venire in the interest of justice.
§ 198.5.Sessions of superior court in cities other than county seat
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Last amended 2004 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 198.5 lets a court that holds sessions away from the county seat draw jurors more locally for those sessions by local rule, without limiting the court’s discretion to order a countywide venire when justice calls for it.
Full Text of § 198.5
Plain-English Summary
Some California counties have court sessions held in cities other than the county seat. Section 198.5 lets the superior court adopt a local rule addressing how jurors are drawn for those sessions, giving it room to tailor jury sourcing to the location where a case will be heard.
That flexibility has a limit built in: nothing in the section stops the court, in its discretion, from ordering a countywide venire whenever the interest of justice calls for it. So a local, session-specific approach to jury sourcing is available, but it never becomes the only option.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 198.5 is amended to accommodate unification of the municipal and superior courts in a county. Cal. Const. art. VI, § 5(e). Subdivision (b) is drawn from Section 191 (policy of state to select jury from population of area served by court; all qualified persons to have an equal opportunity to be considered for jury service). A local rule promulgated pursuant to subdivision (b) may differentiate between misdemeanors and limited civil cases, on the one hand, and felonies and civil cases other than limited civil cases, on the other. See Code Civ. Proc. § 85 (limited civil cases) & Comment; Penal Code § 691 (definitions) & Comment.
2002 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 198.5 is amended, effective January 1, 2004, to reflect unification of the municipal and superior courts pursuant to Article VI, Section 5(e), of the California Constitution. It incorporates provisions drawn from Sections 199 (El Dorado County venires), 199.2 (Placer County venires), 199.3 (Nevada County venires), and 199.5 (Santa Barbara County venires).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California court draw jurors just from the city where a session is held, rather than the whole county?
Section 198.5 allows a local rule addressing jury sourcing for sessions held in cities other than the county seat, subject to the court’s discretion.
Does Section 198.5 stop a court from ordering a countywide jury pool?
No. The section expressly preserves the court’s discretion to order a countywide venire when the interest of justice requires it.
Can a local rule under Section 198.5 treat civil and criminal cases differently?
Yes. A local rule adopted under this section may differentiate between case types, such as misdemeanors and limited civil cases on one hand and felonies and other civil cases on the other.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1988 ch 1245 § 2. Amended Stats 1998 ch 931 § 52 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998; Stats 2002 ch 784 § 41 (SB 1316), operative January 1, 2004; Stats 2003 ch 449 § 6 (AB 1712).
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
Also known as: countywide venire californiajury selection outside county seat californialocal jury rule california superior courtcalifornia superior court session jury sourcing