Mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment, which in the opinion of the jury commissioner is satisfactory therefor, may be used in the performance of any function specified by this chapter for the selection and drawing of jurors.
§ 202.Mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 202 authorizes the use of mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment in the jury selection and management process, letting courts and jury commissioners rely on automated tools rather than manual methods alone.
Full Text of § 202
Plain-English Summary
Section 202 gives jury commissioners and courts room to modernize. Rather than requiring the source-list draws, master-list selections, and summoning process described elsewhere in the chapter to be done by hand, the section permits mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment to be used in carrying out these jury-management functions.
In practice, this is the provision that lets a county’s computer systems, rather than a drawing from a box, generate the random selections the Act requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can California courts use computers to select jurors?
Yes. Section 202 authorizes the use of mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment in the jury selection process.
Does using automated equipment change the randomness requirement?
Does Section 202 require any particular technology?
No. It authorizes the use of mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment without mandating a specific system, leaving the choice of tools to the jury commissioner and court.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1988 ch 1245 § 2.
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: electronic jury selection californiacomputerized jury selection system californiaautomated jury pool selectionmechanical equipment jury selection statute