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Chapter 16 (Rules 16.00 to 16.09): the rules implementing the California Code of Civil Procedure (sections 195 et seq.) and the California Penal Code (sections 903.1 et seq.) (Rule 16.00); the Jury Commissioner (Rule 16.01); juror selection from the voter registration and Department of Motor Vehicle files (Rule 16.02); disqualification, exemption, excuse and deferment (Rule 16.03); panel selection (Rule 16.05); juror fees of $15 a day from the second day of service and 17 cents per mile (Rule 16.06); juror information (Rule 16.07); grand jurors (Rule 16.08); and jury districts (Rule 16.09).
California > Second Appellate District > San Luis Obispo County > Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo
CHAPTER 16 – JURY SERVICES RULE 16.00 PURPOSE These rules are established for the purpose of complying with and implementing the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), Sections 195 et seq., the California Penal Code (PC) Sections 903.1 et seq., and the California Rules of Court relating to the selection of jurors and the formation of jury trials in San Luis Obispo County. ( Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.01 JURY COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENT In the opinion of a majority of the judges, the business of the court requires the appointment of a Jury Commissioner. The judges have appointed a Jury Commissioner for San Luis Obispo County who shall have the authority, duties, and responsibilities to perform the functions as provided by CCP195.Amended 1/1/09 RULE 16.02 JUROR SELECTION The Jury Commissioner may use mechanical, electric, or electronic equipment in the performance of any function for the selection and drawing of jurors by lot. (a) Source List The most current San Luis Obispo voter registration file, combined with the Department of Motor Vehicle file of licensed drivers and identification card-holders who are 18 years of age and older, will constitute the sources from which prospective jurors will be selected. (b) Master Jury File The Jury Commissioner will have a new master jury file prepared at least once during any consecutive 12 months. The number of names to be placed on such master jury file will be determined by the Jury Commissioner. (1) The master jury file must be used for the selection of trial jurors in cases tried in all departments of the court. (c) Random Selection of Prospective Jurors and Summoning Process The plan for random selection must be designed by Jury Systems Incorporated (JSI), the Jury Management System contracted with the San Luis Obispo Superior Court, upon the approval of the Jury Commissioner, to ensure that a fair cross section of the eligible persons residing in San Luis Obispo County are selected and that random key numbers are generated and assigned for each prospective juror. The summoning and qualifying of prospective jurors from the master jury file will be performed as one integrated process and ensure random selection from a fair cross section of the population served by the court. (Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.03 DISQUALIFICATION, EXEMPTION, EXCUSE, DEFERMENT OF JURORS The Jury Commissioner, an assistant to the Jury Commissioner, or the court must determine the statutory disqualification or exemption of prospective jurors. (a) Disqualification and Excuse Policy A prospective juror may be disqualified or excused from service on the basis of one of the categories set forth in the statutes of CCP 203, 204 and CRC 2.1008 and as determined by the Jury Commissioner and/or the Presiding Judge of the court. (1) Procedure for Granting Excuse from Jury Service A request for excuse from jury service must be addressed to the Jury Commissioner, in writing, and submitted for determination prior to the appearance date, unless the excuse is granted in court the day of the trial. All requests for excuse by a prospective juror will be fairly reviewed and all relevant information w ill be considered. A prospective juror may be personally interviewed if it is determined necessary or desirable to do so by the Jury Commissioner. The Jury Commissioner may refer any request to the presiding judge for his/her determination. (b) Deferment Policy It is the intent of these rules and the policy of the court that, if a juror is excused for a reason that is temporary in nature, jury service must be deferred to future date when the excuse no longer exists. (Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.05 PANEL SELECTION All prospective jurors summoned for the court must be selected from the master jury file. The Jury Commissioner will determine the number of prospective jurors to assign for each case based on the type of case, number of defendants, and the length of time the case is estimated to last, after consultation with the trial judge or court clerk. (a) Special Venires The Jury Commissioner, after receiving notification that a case will require a special venire, will confer with the presiding judge and/or assigned trial judge before ordering jurors to appear. (b) Supplemental Panels Should a judge require a supplemental panel of prospective trial jurors, such panel will be prepared in the same manner as the first panel was selected. (c) Trial Jury Assignments Upon each appearance of a juror in either the jury assembly room or a department of the court, a record of attendance must be maintained by the Jury commissioner or courtroom clerk. (Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.06 TERM OF SERVICE, TRIAL JUROR PER DIEM AND MILEAGE FEE Pursuant to CCP 215 and by order of the Judicial Council, the fees of jurors in the Courts of this county, in both civil and criminal cases, must be $15 a day for each day's service, commencing on the second day of service as a juror and 17 cents per mile round trip from their place of residence. In addition, a juror must not be required to be on telephonic standby for more than five court days during any 12-month period, except as necessary to complete the hearing of an action. (Amended1/1/09) (a) In General At no time shall the members of the jury be informed as to which party is paying fees, mileage, or other costs for civil cases. (1) Deposit of Fees Jury fees, as provided by CCP 631 et seq., must be deposited with the Clerk of the Court by the party demanding the jury (except for eminent domain cases) after the case has been set for trial at the pretrial or trial setting conference and not later than 25 days prior to the date of trial. During the trial, it must be the duty of the party demanding the jury to pay the Jury Commissioner’s office daily, in advance, the per diem jury fees and mileage required by law for each successive day of service of the jurors impaneled in the case during the trial. The Jury Commissioner’s Office has the duty to collect such fees and mileage for deposit in the Clerk's civil trust fund. (2) Forfeiture of Deposit If the case is settled or the jury has waived or the case goes off calendar for whatever reason, or the case is continued for trial on motion of the party depositing the jury fees, none of the deposit shall be refunded if the court finds there has been insufficient time to notify the jurors that the trial would not proceed at the time set. All fees determined to be retained pursuant to this rule must be transferred to the State of California. (b) Telephone Standby In order to control the number of jurors appearing for jury duty and to prevent juror overcall, jurors will be placed on telephone standby when they are summoned. (1) Any prospective juror or alternate juror may be placed on telephone stand-by to be available on one-hour notice by phone. (Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.07 JUROR INFORMATION The Jury Commissioner must not disclose information regarding jurors unless the information is required for the selection of trial jurors, except by order of the court. (Amended 1/1/09) RULE 16.08 SELECTION OF GRAND JURORS Rules pertaining to the selection of grand jurors are established pursuant to PC 903.1 et seq. Annually, upon request by the presiding judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo, the Jury Commissioner must furnish the judges of the court a list of qualified prospective grand jurors. (a) Qualification of Jurors The Jury Commissioner must inquire and be informed of the qualifications of persons who will be summoned before the court for grand jury service. The Jury Commissioner must be satisfied that a person is qualified to serve as a grand juror before he or she is sworn. (b) Submission of List and Names not on List The Jury Commissioner must submit a list of recommended prospective grand jurors to the court for examination and selection by the judges of the court. (1) The judges are not required to select any names from the list returned by the Jury Commissioner but may, instead, select from among the body of persons in the county suitable and competent to serve as grand jurors. (a) Nominations by the judges will be submitted to the presiding judge on or before June 1. (2) The judges of the court must meet during June of each year and, by majority vote therefore, select the members of the panel from which the grand jurors to serve during the ensuing fiscal year must be selected. The court will then submit a copy of the names to the Jury Commissioner and the Clerk for publication. (c) Annual Drawing, Number of Jurors, Length of Service (1) Each year an order must be made and filed with the Clerk of the Court directing a grand jury to be drawn, and the time at which the drawing will take place. The grand jury may be selected to serve from either a fiscal year or calendar year term. (2) The San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury will serve from July 1 to June 30 of each fiscal year and be comprised of 19 persons and 11 alternates. (d) Selection of Foreperson The Presiding Judge of the Court or designee must, upon impanelment of the grand jury, select one of the grand jurors as foreperson. If for any reason the foreperson is unable to continue service, the replacement foreperson must be selected from the remaining grand jurors as soon after the vacancy becomes known. (e) Removal of Foreperson The Presiding Judge of the court or designee may discharge the foreperson of the grand jury. In the event of a vacancy in the office of foreperson, the vacancy must be filled by appointment of a new foreperson. (f) Additional Grand Jury Impanelment Upon request of the presiding judge the Jury Commissioner must furnish a list of qualified prospective grand jurors to form special grand juries. PC 904.6. (Amended 1/1/09 RULE 16.09 JURY DISTRICTS Prospective trial jurors for the Paso Robles court location must be summoned from the jury districts of such court. The jury district for the Paso Robles Court location includes the incorporated areas of San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Atascadero, Cambria, Santa Margarita, Templeton and all other unincorporated areas north of the Cuesta Grade provided, however, that nothing shall preclude the exercise of discretion by the jury commissioner in selecting trial jurors when the jury district boundaries do not physically correspond with the present location of court facilities. The San Luis Obispo Branch must use a county-wide jury panel. (Amended 1/1/12)
CHAPTER 16 – JURY SERVICES RULE 16.00 PURPOSE These rules are established for the purpose of complying with and implementing the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), Sections 195 et seq., the California Penal Code (PC) Sections 903.1 et seq., and the California Rules of Court relating to the selection of jurors and the formation of jury trials in San Luis Obispo County. ( Amended 1/1/09) RULE
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 San Luis Obispo build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-san-luis-obispo/docs/local-rules/local-rules-be-effective-july-1-2026.pdf (the court's rule book, “Rules of the Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo, Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 1342001 bytes, sha256 529d32bded120bc75a274269fb81bc94001fed283619190951cbc84909e80ffe; 144 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over the rule body (PDF pages 11 to 130, printed 1 to 120): each page's running header (“San Luis Obispo Superior Court”) and printed page number removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; the one struck word in the book (Rule 11.1902(c), read on the page image) set aside as chrome with the composer's strike_out, so the card reads the rule as amended; the body cut at the chapter headings (“CHAPTER N –”), which reassemble it; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the table of contents, Appendix I (the schedule of fees), Appendix II (the local forms lists) and the index belong to no chapter; Chapters 6, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 29 print only repealed rules and have no card; the book has no Chapter 17.
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.