A challenge for implied bias may be taken for one or more of the following causes, and for no other:
§ 229.Challenges for implied bias
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 229 lists the specific grounds for an implied-bias challenge, from close family relationships with a party, witness, or victim, to prior service as a juror or witness in a related matter, financial or contractual ties, a fixed opinion on the case, or enmity or bias toward a party.
Full Text of § 229
(a) Consanguinity or affinity within the fourth degree to any party, to an officer of a corporation which is a party, or to any alleged witness or victim in the case at bar.
(b) Standing in the relation of, or being the parent, spouse, or child of one who stands in the relation of, guardian and ward, conservator and conservatee, master and servant, employer and clerk, landlord and tenant, principal and agent, or debtor and creditor, to either party or to an officer of a corporation which is a party, or being a member of the family of either party; or a partner in business with either party; or surety on any bond or obligation for either party, or being the holder of bonds or shares of capital stock of a corporation which is a party; or having stood within one year previous to the filing of the complaint in the action in the relation of attorney and client with either party or with the attorney for either party. A depositor of a bank or a holder of a savings account in a savings and loan association shall not be deemed a creditor of that bank or savings and loan association for the purpose of this paragraph solely by reason of his or her being a depositor or account holder.
(c) Having served as a trial or grand juror or on a jury of inquest in a civil or criminal action or been a witness on a previous or pending trial between the same parties, or involving the same specific offense or cause of action; or having served as a trial or grand juror or on a jury within one year previously in any criminal or civil action or proceeding in which either party was the plaintiff or defendant or in a criminal action where either party was the defendant.
(d) Interest on the part of the juror in the event of the action, or in the main question involved in the action, except his or her interest as a member or citizen or taxpayer of a county, city and county, incorporated city or town, or other political subdivision of a county, or municipal water district.
(e) Having an unqualified opinion or belief as to the merits of the action founded upon knowledge of its material facts or of some of them.
(f) The existence of a state of mind in the juror evincing enmity against, or bias towards, either party.
(g) That the juror is party to an action pending in the court for which he or she is drawn and which action is set for trial before the panel of which the juror is a member.
(h) If the offense charged is punishable with death, the entertaining of such conscientious opinions as would preclude the juror finding the defendant guilty; in which case the juror may neither be permitted nor compelled to serve.
Plain-English Summary
Section 229 spells out implied bias with a list of concrete relationships and circumstances, rather than a general standard. The first ground is consanguinity or affinity within the fourth degree to any party, to an officer of a party corporation, or to any alleged witness or victim in the case.
The remaining grounds cover relationships like guardian and ward, master and servant, landlord and tenant, principal and agent, or debtor and creditor with a party or a party corporation’s officer, or having been a party’s attorney within the year before the complaint was filed; prior service as a juror, grand juror, or witness in the same or a related action, or jury service within the preceding year in any action involving either party; an interest in the outcome of the action or its main question (apart from a general interest as a taxpayer or resident of a political subdivision); an unqualified opinion or belief on the merits founded on knowledge of material facts; a state of mind showing enmity toward, or bias in favor of, either party; being a party to another action pending before the same panel; and, in a capital case, conscientious opinions that would preclude finding the defendant guilty.
Because these grounds are specific and factual, a party raising an implied-bias challenge is arguing that the facts themselves, once shown, disqualify the juror as a matter of law, distinguishing implied bias from the case-by-case judgment call an actual-bias challenge requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
What relationships create implied bias for a California juror?
Section 229 lists close family relationships to a party, witness, or victim, plus ties like guardian-ward, master-servant, landlord-tenant, principal-agent, debtor-creditor, or a recent attorney-client relationship with a party.
Does having served as a juror before create implied bias?
It can. Section 229(c) lists prior service as a trial or grand juror, or as a witness, in the same or a related action, or jury service within the preceding year involving either party.
What is the difference between implied bias under Section 229 and actual bias?
Implied bias rests on one of the specific, listed facts in § 229, which disqualify a juror as a matter of law once shown; actual bias under § 225(b)(1)(C) requires a case-specific finding about the juror’s actual state of mind.
Does having a financial interest in a case create implied bias?
Yes. Section 229(d) lists an interest in the event of the action, or in its main question, apart from a general interest shared as a taxpayer or resident of the relevant political subdivision.
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
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