If the witness be imprisoned in a jail in the county where the action or proceeding is pending, his production may be required. In all other cases his examination, when allowed, must be taken upon deposition.
§ 1997.Witness a prisoner; production before court in county of imprisonment; deposition
Title 3. Of the Production of Evidence · Chapter 2. Means of Production · Last amended 1941 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1997 requires a prisoner-witness held in a jail in the same county where the action or proceeding is pending to be produced in person, while a prisoner held elsewhere can only be examined by deposition rather than brought to court.
Full Text of § 1997
Plain-English Summary
This closing section draws the line between the two options Section 1995 allows: physical production versus deposition. Geography decides which one applies. If the prisoner is jailed in the same county where the action or proceeding is pending, the court can require actual production, bringing the prisoner physically before the court or officer.
If the prisoner is held in a jail somewhere else, that option disappears. The examination, when the court allows it at all, has to be taken by deposition instead. The rule keeps the security and logistical burden of transporting a prisoner across county lines off the table, while still preserving a way to get that person's testimony into the record.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a prisoner-witness be physically brought to court?
Only when the prisoner is jailed in the same county where the action or proceeding is pending.
What happens if the prisoner is held in a different county?
The examination, if allowed, must be taken by deposition rather than through physical production in court.
Does this section decide whether a prisoner's testimony can be taken at all?
No. Section 1995 governs whether an order for examination or production can be made; this section only decides which method, production or deposition, applies.
Amendment History
(Enacted in 1872. Amended by Stats.1941, c. 802, p. 2350, § 7.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: prisoner witness deposition versus production californiaout of county jail witness examination