Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.201 · Division 3. Trials
Voir dire in criminal cases
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
To select a fair and impartial jury, the judge must conduct an initial examination of the prospective jurors orally, or by written questionnaire, or by both methods. The Juror Questionnaire for Criminal Cases (form JURY-002) may be used. After completion of the initial examination, the court must permit counsel to conduct supplemental questioning as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 223.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 4.201 amended effective January 1, 2026; adopted as rule 228.2 effective June 6, 1990; previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2001; previously amended effective January 1, 2006.
Advisory Committee Comment
Although Code of Civil Procedure section 223 creates a preference for nonsequestered voir dire (People v. Roldan (2005) 35 Cal.4th 646, 691), a judge may conduct sequestered voir dire on questions concerning media reports of the case and on any other issue deemed advisable. (See, e.g., Cal. Stds. Jud. Admin., std. 4.30(a)(3).) To determine whether such issues are present, a judge may consider factors including the charges, the nature of the evidence that is anticipated to be presented, and any other relevant factors. To that end, a judge should always inform jurors of the possibility of sequestered voir dire if the voir dire is likely to elicit answers that the juror may believe are sensitive in nature. It should also be noted that when written questionnaires are used, jurors must be advised of the right to request a hearing in chambers on sensitive questions rather than answering them on the questionnaire. (Copley Press Inc. v. Superior Court (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 77, 87.)
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/four/rule4_201
- Text hash
- sha256 d1c7d54b4e64894ff842bd1257f214141efb7c9a9a176dac7498e765b28bb0a0
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Code of Civil Procedure
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.