(a) If a jury commissioner requires a person to complete a questionnaire, the questionnaire shall ask only questions related to juror identification, qualification, and ability to serve as a prospective juror.
§ 205.Juror questionnaires; Judicial Council standard for gender identity and expression
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Enacted 1899 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 205 authorizes juror questionnaires used to qualify prospective jurors and manage the jury system, keeps those questionnaires separate from courtroom voir dire absent a court order or local rule, and requires the Judicial Council to make juror identification inclusive of gender identity and expression.
Full Text of § 205
(b) Except as ordered by the court, the questionnaire referred to in subdivision (a) shall be used solely for qualifying prospective jurors, and for management of the jury system, and not for assisting in the courtroom voir dire process of selecting trial jurors for specific cases.
(c) The court may require a prospective juror to complete such additional questionnaires as may be deemed relevant and necessary for assisting in the voir dire process or to ascertain whether a fair cross section of the population is represented as required by law, if such procedures are established by local court rule.
(d) The trial judge may direct a prospective juror to complete additional questionnaires as proposed by counsel in a particular case to assist the voir dire process.
(e) The Judicial Council shall adopt a standard of judicial administration to ensure that juror identification and any juror questionnaire is inclusive, including allowing a juror the ability to express their gender identity or gender expression, if applicable.
(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2026.
Plain-English Summary
Section 205 governs the questionnaires that flow from the master list under § 198. Except as the court orders, a questionnaire is used solely to qualify prospective jurors and manage the jury system, not to help with courtroom voir dire in a specific case.
That said, the section leaves room for case-specific questionnaires. A court may require additional questionnaires by local rule, when relevant to voir dire or to checking whether a fair cross section of the population is represented, and a trial judge may direct a prospective juror to complete further questionnaires that counsel in a particular case has proposed to assist voir dire.
Section 205 also directs the Judicial Council to adopt a standard ensuring juror identification and any juror questionnaire is inclusive, including letting a juror express their gender identity or gender expression where applicable. That directive became operative January 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a juror questionnaire be used during courtroom voir dire?
Only if the court orders it. Absent a court order, Section 205 limits the standard questionnaire to qualifying jurors and managing the jury system.
Can counsel request extra juror questionnaires for a specific case?
Yes. A trial judge may direct a prospective juror to complete additional questionnaires that counsel has proposed to help with voir dire in that case.
What does Section 205 say about gender identity on juror questionnaires?
It requires the Judicial Council to adopt a standard making juror identification and questionnaires inclusive, including letting a juror express their gender identity or gender expression, operative January 1, 2026.
Amendment History
Added Stats 2024 ch 812 § 12 (AB 1899), effective January 1, 2025, operative January 1, 2026.
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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