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The method of selection - jurors selected at random from source lists (the list of registered voters, the Department of Motor Vehicle's list of licensed drivers and others) (13.1); jury qualifications - disqualification, excusals, permanent excusals and postponements (13.2); and the fulfillment of service - its duration and completion (13.3).
California > First Appellate District > Sonoma County > Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma
RULE 13 RULES APPLICABLE TO TRIAL JURY SERVICE Jury service, unless excused by law, is an obligation of citizenship. The court and its staff shall employ all necessary and appropriate means to assure that citizens fulfill this important civic responsibility. 13.1 METHOD OF SELECTION A. Source Lists All persons selected for jury service shall be selected at random, from a source or sources inclusive of a representative cross section of the population of the area served by the court. Sonoma County Superior Court will use the list of registered voters, the Department of Motor Vehicle’s list of licensed drivers and identification card holders, and the list of resident state tax filers from the Franchise State Tax Board. (Eff. 01/01/2025) B. Random Selection It is the policy of the Superior Court that all persons selected for jury service shall be selected at random from the population of the area served by the Court; and that all qualified persons have an equal opportunity to be considered for jury service in the State and an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose. This rule shall apply to the selection of jurors, and the formation of trial juries, for both civil and criminal cases, in all trial courts. (Eff. 1/1/1997, Rev and renumbered 1/1/2025, formerly rule 13.3) 13.2 JURY QUALIFICATIONS In accordance with Code of Civil Procedure § 204, no eligible person shall be exempt from service as a trial juror by reason of occupation, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status, or for any other reason, except as listed below. A. Disqualification All persons are eligible and qualified to be prospective trial jurors, with the exception of those described in Code of Civil Procedure § 203. B. Excusals Please see California Rule of Court 2.1008(d) for reasons that would permit a juror to be excused from jury service. Excusals may only be requested after a person has been summoned for jury duty. C. Permanent Excusals In accordance with California Rules of Court 2.1009, any request for a permanent excuse or exemption due to medical or other reasons, requires approval and authorization by the Jury Commissioner or designee. D. Postponements Upon receiving a summons for jury duty, a prospective juror may request a postponement of jury service. A maximum of two postponements may be granted within a 12-month period. (Eff. 1/1/25) 13.3 FULFILLMENT OF SERVICE A. Duration of Service Sonoma County summons jurors for a period of one week, during which prospective jurors shall remain "on standby" until asked to appear. If a prospective juror is not required to appear for service during the week, they will be given credit for service and taken out of the pool as if jury service was completed. B. Completion of Service In accordance with California Rule of Court 2.1002, Sonoma County follows the “one day or one trial” practice. Jury service is considered fulfilled when a juror has completed one of the following: 1. Served on one jury trial through a verdict 2. Been assigned to a trial department for jury selection and served until excused by a judicial officer 3. Appeared for service but was not assigned to a trial department Once given credit for service, a juror shall not be summoned for a period of at least 12 months. (Eff. 1/1/25)
RULE 13 RULES APPLICABLE TO TRIAL JURY SERVICE Jury service, unless excused by law, is an obligation of citizenship. The court and its staff shall employ all necessary and appropriate means to assure that citizens fulfill this important civic responsibility. 13.1 METHOD OF SELECTION A. Source Lists All persons selected for jury service shall be selected at random, from a source or sources inclusiv
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 Sonoma build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-sonoma/docs/local-rules/local-rules-working-jul-2026-new-address-update.pdf (the court's rule book, “Local Rules of Court Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 1515969 bytes, sha256 e3a9b3a99af553adf4c33851ccbc58bbbfb1020ec74e105c1225b9e6d076c102; 204 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over Rules 1 to 21 (PDF pages 8 to 189), each rule composed alone from its first page to the page before the next rule's: each page's running header (“SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SONOMA”, two rules of underscores and the page number) removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; eight breaks the reflow made before a citation or history note's “Rule N.N” at a line start rejoined and eleven paragraph, heading, history and list-line breaks it ran together set back (19 whitespace-only fixes, build/book-fixes.json; the vertical-gap audit finds no joined break left); four struck characters (tracked deletions on PDF pages 70, 98, 176 and 184; the strike report) left out; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the list of the court's judicial officers, the table of contents, the index, the forms listings and the list of currently effective rules belong to no rule.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.