Challenges for cause shall be tried by the court. The juror challenged and any other person may be examined as a witness in the trial of the challenge, and shall truthfully answer all questions propounded to them.
§ 230.Challenges tried by court
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 230 assigns every challenge, whether to the panel or to an individual juror, to be tried by the court itself.
Full Text of § 230
Plain-English Summary
Section 230 answers a basic procedural question: who decides a jury challenge. Whether the challenge targets the whole panel or a single juror, the court tries it.
Keeping challenge decisions with the court, rather than another jury or a separate factfinder, keeps jury selection moving without a second layer of adjudication over who belongs on the jury.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides a challenge to a juror in California?
The court. Section 230 states that all challenges, to the panel or to an individual juror, are tried by the court.
Does a separate jury decide whether a challenged juror should be excused?
No. Section 230 places that decision with the court itself, not with another jury or panel.
Does Section 230 apply to peremptory challenges as well as challenges for cause?
Section 230’s text addresses challenges generally; peremptory challenges are resolved by the court excluding the challenged juror under § 226, without the for-cause trial process that panel and cause challenges can involve.
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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