Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1861, all litigants “have the right to grand and petit jurors selected at random from a fair cross section of the community.” The court uses a one-step process to select jurors.
First, a master jury wheel is created by selecting names at random from the lists furnished by the Secretary of State of California of registered voters and from the lists furnished by the California Department of Motor Vehicles of the holders of driver’s licenses and identification cards. Then, names are randomly drawn from the master jury wheel to receive summonses. These summonses include instructions to go to our eJuror web page to complete a juror qualification questionnaire. Individuals’ answers to these questionnaires determine whether they are legally qualified to serve. Those individuals who choose not to use the eJuror website may request a paper qualification questionnaire to be mailed to them.
As prospective jurors are needed for specific trials or grand juries, jury pools are randomly selected from the list of qualified participants. Panels of prospective jurors are then randomly selected for each jury trial. All of these selections are carried out through an electronic data processing system programmed to provide pure randomized selection. The pure randomized process ensures that the mathematical odds of any single name being selected are substantially equal.
If you're interested in more detail, read the Northern California District Plan For The Random Selection Of Grand And Petit Jurors