(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the jury commissioner shall randomly select jurors for jury panels to be sent to courtrooms for voir dire.
§ 219.Selection of jury panels
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Last amended 2066 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 219 governs how trial jury panels are assigned within the court and bars specified categories of peace officers from being selected for voir dire in civil or criminal cases.
Full Text of § 219
(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no peace officer, as defined in Section 830.1, subdivision (a) of Section 830.2, and subdivision (a) of Section 830.33, of the Penal Code, shall be selected for voir dire in civil or criminal matters.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no peace officer, as defined in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 830.2 of the Penal Code, shall be selected for voir dire in criminal matters.
Plain-English Summary
Section 219 covers the handoff between the jury pool and a courtroom, addressing how trial jury panels get assigned so that selection proceeds in an orderly, random way.
The section also carves out a specific group from the process: certain peace officers, as defined by cross-reference to particular Penal Code peace-officer categories, may not be selected for voir dire in civil or criminal matters at all, and a narrower group of peace officers is barred from voir dire in criminal matters specifically. That exclusion keeps officers whose duties could create a conflict of interest, or the appearance of one, out of the jury box entirely rather than leaving the question to case-by-case challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a police officer serve on a California jury?
Section 219 bars specified categories of peace officers from being selected for voir dire in civil or criminal cases, and bars a narrower group from voir dire in criminal cases specifically.
Does the peace-officer exclusion in Section 219 apply to civil trials?
Yes, for the specified peace-officer categories identified in subdivision (b)(1); a further, narrower exclusion in (b)(2) applies only to criminal matters.
What does Section 219 govern besides the peace-officer exclusion?
It addresses how trial jury panels are assigned as jury selection moves from the pool into a courtroom.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1988 ch 1245 § 2. Amended Stats 1992 ch 324 § 1 (AB 2577); Stats 1994 ch 742 § 2 (SB 2066); Stats 1998 ch 606 § 1 (SB 1880); Stats 2001 ch 55 § 1 (SB 303).
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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