New California law sets new age limits for jury duty. Here’s who can ‘opt out’

California jury duty comes with a specific set of qualifications — and some older residents will soon have a new jury duty excuse.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a new law allowing California residents 80 and older to permanently excuse themselves from jury service.

The change builds on existing rules that allow California residents 70 and older to seek an excuse for a medical impairment without providing documentation.

However, older Californians are currently required to go through the process each time they are summoned.

Here’s what California residents need to know:

Who is qualified to be a juror in California?

According to the California Code of Civil Procedure, people are qualified to be a juror if they:

• Are U.S. citizens
• Are 18 or older
• Are California residents and residents of the county where they are summoned
• Have enough knowledge of English to understand and discuss the case
• Are not currently serving as a grand or trial juror
• Are not under a court-appointed conservatorship
• Are not incarcerated in a jail or prison
• Are not currently on parole, post-release community supervision, felony probation or mandated supervision for a felony conviction
• Are not currently required to register as a sex offender because of a felony conviction
• Have not been convicted of malfeasance in office without having their civil rights restored.

A prior felony conviction by itself does not automatically service.

California law changed in 2020 to allow people with felony convictions to serve unless they fall into certain categories, including those currently incarcerated, on felony supervision or required to register as a sex offender.

New California law allows seniors to opt out of jury duty

On Sept. 14, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1359 into law.

AB 1359 — introduced by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, D-Silicon Valley — allows a person 80 or older to seek a permanent excuse from jury service.

“Seniors can still of course serve if they’re willing and able to,” Ahrens wrote in a Sept. 15 Facebook post.

Under the law, an eligible person can request the permanent excuse without submitting a supporting letter, memorandum or note from a treating health care provider.

If a person 80 or older cannot or does not want to be considered for jury duty, Ahrens said, they will not have to “jump through hoops to opt out” every time they are summoned.

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Who can request to be excused from jury service?

The current process is different from the permanent exemption for individuals 80 or older created by Assembly Bill 1359.

Under existing rules, individuals 70 and older can be excused for a medical condition or disability without needing a doctor’s note.

“If you are 70 years of age or older, the (law) allows you to be excused due to a medical condition without a doctor’s note,” Blaine Corren, a spokesperson for the Judicial Council of California, previously told The Sacramento Bee.

However, seniors must go through this process every time they are summoned for jury service.

According to Rule 2.1008 of the California Rules of Court, a prospective juror under 70 with a physical or mental disability or impairment can also request to be excused from jury duty.

This process requires supporting documentation from a health care provider.

“Unless the person is aged 70 years or older, the prospective juror may be required to furnish verification or a method of verification of the disability or impairment,” the rule says.

When does new California jury law take effect?

The new law will take effect Jan. 1, 2028.

Until then, California’s existing jury service rules remain in effect, including the provision allowing people 70 and older to seek an excuse for a qualifying medical impairment without providing documentation.

“Thank you to all of our seniors for their many decades of service and thank you to the governor for helping provide some relief to those who feel they’re no longer able to serve on a jury!” Ahrens wrote on Facebook.