Whenever, in the opinion of a judge of a superior court about to try a civil or criminal action or proceeding, the trial is likely to be a protracted one, or upon stipulation of the parties, the court may cause an entry to that effect to be made in the minutes of the court and thereupon, immediately after the jury is impaneled and sworn, the court may direct the calling of one or more additional jurors, in its discretion, to be known as “alternate jurors.” These alternate jurors shall be drawn from the same source, and in the same manner, and have the same qualifications, as the jurors already sworn, and shall be subject to the same examination and challenges. However, each side, or each defendant, as provided in Section 231, shall be entitled to as many peremptory challenges to the alternate jurors as there are alternate jurors called. The alternate jurors shall be seated so as to have equal power and facilities for seeing and hearing the proceedings in the case, and shall take the same oath as the jurors already selected, and shall, unless excused by the court, attend at all times upon the trial of the cause in company with the other jurors, but shall not participate in deliberation unless ordered by the court, and for a failure to do so are liable to be punished for contempt. They shall obey the orders of and be bound by the admonition of the court, upon each adjournment of the court; but if the regular jurors are ordered to be kept in the custody of the sheriff or marshal during the trial of the cause, the alternate jurors shall also be kept in confinement with the other jurors; and upon final submission of the case to the jury, the alternate jurors shall be kept in the custody of the sheriff or marshal who shall not suffer any communication to be made to them except by order of the court, and shall not be discharged until the original jurors are discharged, except as provided in this section. If at any time, whether before or after the final submission of the case to the jury, a juror dies or becomes ill, or upon other good cause shown to the court is found to be unable to perform his or her duty, or if a juror requests a discharge and good cause appears therefor, the court may order the juror to be discharged and draw the name of an alternate, who shall then take his or her place in the jury box, and be subject to the same rules and regulations as though he or she had been selected as one of the original jurors. All laws relative to fees, expenses, and mileage or transportation of jurors shall be applicable to alternate jurors, except that in civil cases the sums for fees and mileage or transportation need not be deposited until the judge directs alternate jurors to be impaneled.
§ 234.Alternate jurors
Title 3. Persons Specially Invested With Powers of a Judicial Nature · Chapter 1. Trial Jury Selection and Management Act · Last amended 2011 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 234 authorizes alternate jurors, drawn and examined the same way as the regular jurors, who attend the whole trial without deliberating unless the court orders otherwise, and who step in under the same rules as an original juror if a seated juror is discharged before or after submission of the case.
Full Text of § 234
Plain-English Summary
Section 234 lets a court seat one or more alternate jurors alongside the regular jury. Alternates come from the same source, are selected the same way, and must have the same qualifications as the jurors already sworn, and each side (or each defendant, as § 231 provides) gets as many peremptory challenges to the alternates as there are alternate seats to fill.
Alternates sit where they can see and hear the proceedings as well as the regular jurors, take the same oath, and, unless excused, must attend the entire trial alongside the other jurors, but they do not join deliberations unless the court orders it, on pain of contempt for failing to comply with the court’s orders and admonitions. If the regular jurors are kept in custody during trial, the alternates are kept together with them, and once the case is finally submitted, alternates remain in custody, barred from outside communication except by court order, until the original jurors are discharged.
If, at any point before or after final submission, a juror dies, becomes ill, or is otherwise found unable to perform the duty, or asks to be discharged for good cause, the court may discharge that juror and draw an alternate to take the seat, subject to the same rules as an original juror. Alternates receive the same fees, expenses, and mileage as other jurors, except that in civil cases those sums need not be deposited until the judge directs alternates to be impaneled.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 234 is amended to reflect the elimination of the justice court. Cal Const Art IV §§ 1, 5(b).
2002 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 234 is amended to reflect unification of the municipal and superior courts pursuant to Article VI, Section 5(e), of the California Constitution.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are alternate jurors selected in California?
Section 234 requires alternates to be drawn from the same source and in the same manner, and to have the same qualifications, as the regular jurors, subject to the same examination and challenges.
Do alternate jurors participate in deliberations?
Not unless the court orders it. Section 234 has alternates attend the entire trial but keeps them out of deliberations otherwise.
What happens if a juror is discharged after the case is submitted to the jury?
Section 234 lets the court draw the name of an alternate to take that juror’s place, on the same terms as an original juror, even after final submission.
How many peremptory challenges apply to alternate jurors?
Each side, or each defendant under § 231, gets as many peremptory challenges to the alternates as there are alternate jurors called.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1988 ch 1245 § 2. Amended Stats 1996 ch 872 § 10 (AB 3472); Stats 1998 ch 931 § 56 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998; Stats 2002 ch 784 § 50 (SB 1316); Stats 2010 ch 328 § 33 (SB 1330), effective January 1, 2011.
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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