ARTICLE 2. Listing and Selection of Grand Jurors [895. - 902.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 2.

in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 895. Section 895.

During the month preceding the beginning of the fiscal year of the county, the superior court of each county shall make an order designating the estimated number of grand jurors that will, in the opinion of the court, be required for the transaction of the business of the court during the ensuing fiscal year as provided in Section 905.5.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 896. Section 896.

(a) Immediately after an order is made pursuant to Section 895, the court shall select the grand jurors required by personal interview for the purpose of ascertaining whether they possess the qualifications prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 893. If a person so interviewed, in the opinion of the court, possesses the necessary qualifications, in order to be listed the person shall sign a statement declaring that the person will be available for jury service for the number of hours usually required of a member of the grand jury in that county. (b) The selections shall be made of men and women who are not exempt from serving and who are suitable and competent to serve as grand jurors pursuant to Sections 893, 898, and 899. The court shall list the persons so selected and required by the order to serve as grand jurors during the ensuing fiscal year of the county, or until a new list of grand jurors is provided, and shall at once place this list in the possession of the jury commissioner.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 898. Section 898.

The list of grand jurors made in a county having a population in excess of four million shall contain the number of persons which has been designated by the court in its order.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 899. Section 899.

The names for the grand jury list shall be selected from the different wards, judicial districts, or supervisorial districts of the respective counties in proportion to the number of inhabitants therein, as nearly as the same can be estimated by the persons making the lists. The grand jury list shall be kept separate and distinct from the trial jury list. In a county of the first class, the names for such list may be selected from the county at large.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 900. Section 900.

On receiving the list of persons selected by the court, the jury commissioner shall file it in the jury commissioner’s office and have the list, which shall include the name of the judge who selected each person on the list, published one time in a newspaper of general circulation, as defined in Section 6000 of the Government Code, in the county. The jury commissioner shall then do either of the following: (a) Write down the names on the list onto separate pieces of paper of the same size and appearance, fold each piece so as to conceal the name, and deposit the pieces in a box to be called the “grand jury box.” (b) Assign a number to each name on the list and place, in a box to be called the “grand jury box,” markers of the same size, shape, and color, each containing a number which corresponds with a number on the list.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 901. Section 901.

(a) The persons whose names are so returned shall be known as regular jurors, and shall serve for one year and until other persons are selected and returned. (b) If the superior court so decides, the presiding judge may name up to 10 regular jurors not previously so named, who served on the previous grand jury and who so consent, to serve for a second year. (c) The court may also decide to select grand jurors pursuant to Section 908.2.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 902. Section 902.

The names of persons drawn for grand jurors shall be drawn from the grand jury box by withdrawing either the pieces of paper placed therein pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 900 or the markers placed therein pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 900. If, at the end of the fiscal year of the county, there are the names of persons in the grand jury box who have not been drawn during the fiscal year to serve and have not served as grand jurors, the names of such persons may be placed on the list of grand jurors drawn for the succeeding fiscal year.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026