The Judicial Council shall adopt a rule of court, on or before January 1, 2005, requiring the trial courts to establish procedures for jury service that gives peace officers, as defined by Section 830.5 of the Penal Code, scheduling accommodations when necessary.
§ 219.5.Adoption of rules to give certain peace officers scheduling accommodations
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Enacted 2003 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 219.5 directs the adoption of rules giving certain peace officers scheduling accommodations when summoned for jury service, recognizing that shift work and staffing needs can make ordinary jury scheduling harder for them than for other jurors.
Full Text of § 219.5
Plain-English Summary
Section 219.5 recognizes that shift work and staffing needs make jury service logistically harder for some peace officers than for the average summoned juror. It calls for rules giving those officers scheduling accommodations when they are summoned.
Rather than exempting officers from service outright, the accommodation approach lets courts work around law enforcement scheduling constraints while still keeping eligible officers in the jury pool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do peace officers get special scheduling for jury duty in California?
Section 219.5 calls for rules giving certain peace officers scheduling accommodations when summoned for jury service.
Does Section 219.5 exempt peace officers from jury duty?
No. It addresses scheduling accommodations, not an exemption from the duty to serve.
How does Section 219.5 differ from the peace-officer voir dire exclusion in Section 219?
Section 219 keeps certain peace officers off juries entirely for voir dire purposes; § 219.5 instead helps eligible officers who remain in the jury pool manage scheduling conflicts.
Amendment History
Added Stats 2003 ch 353 § 1 (AB 513).
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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