A trial in California moves through a set sequence: jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments, jury instructions, deliberation, and a verdict. The California trial process looks broadly the same whether the case is civil or criminal, but the rules on how many jurors must agree and how strongly the evidence must convince them diverge sharply between the two. Understanding the sequence, and where the civil and criminal tracks split, is the clearest way to know what to expect once a case reaches the courtroom.
Who Is in the Courtroom
The judge runs the proceeding. That means ruling on objections, deciding what evidence the jury can see, and explaining the law to the jury before deliberation. In a jury trial the judge does not decide who wins, but the judge’s evidentiary rulings shape what the jury hears. In a bench trial, the judge decides both the law and the facts, replacing the jury entirely.1Legal Information Institute. Bench Trial
Each side has an attorney. In a criminal case, the prosecutor represents the state, usually the district attorney’s office, and the defense attorney represents the person charged. In a civil case, the plaintiff’s lawyer brings the claim and the defense lawyer responds. Attorneys question witnesses, introduce exhibits, make objections, and deliver the opening and closing arguments.
The jury is made up of citizens who decide what happened based on the evidence and apply the legal standards the judge gives them. California uses twelve-person juries for both felony criminal cases and standard civil cases.2Justia. California Constitution Article I Section 16 – Declaration of Rights A clerk manages the official record and exhibits, a bailiff keeps order, and a court reporter captures a verbatim transcript. That transcript becomes the official record and is essential if either side later appeals.
What Happens Before Trial
By the time the trial itself begins, most of the work in the case is already done. Two pre-trial processes shape what the jury will actually see.
Discovery
Discovery is how each side investigates the other’s case before trial. California allows written questions the other party must answer under oath, requests for documents and records, depositions where a witness gives sworn testimony outside of court, and subpoenas to obtain records from people or companies not involved in the lawsuit.3Judicial Branch of California. Discovery in Civil Cases By trial, both sides should already know what evidence and witnesses the other side plans to use.
Pre-Trial Motions
Either side can ask the judge to resolve certain issues before trial. A motion for summary judgment asks the judge to end the case without a trial because there is no genuine dispute about the key facts and the law clearly favors one side. If the judge agrees, the case is over.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 437c
A motion in limine asks the judge to exclude specific evidence before the jury ever hears it. Once a jury hears something damaging, telling them to ignore it rarely works. Under the California Evidence Code, a judge can exclude evidence when it is irrelevant or when its potential to unfairly prejudice the jury substantially outweighs its value. If the motion is granted, no one in the courtroom can mention that evidence in front of the jury.
Selecting the Jury
Jury selection is the first thing that happens in the courtroom. The process, called voir dire, involves the judge and attorneys questioning a pool of potential jurors to find twelve people, plus alternates, who can decide the case fairly. The questions probe for bias: whether the juror knows any of the parties, has had an experience that would make it hard to be impartial, or holds strong feelings about the type of case being tried.
Challenges for Cause and Peremptory Challenges
Attorneys have two tools to remove jurors. A challenge for cause requires a specific reason, such as actual bias toward a party, a relationship with someone involved in the case, or legal disqualification from serving.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 225 There is no limit on challenges for cause, but the judge must agree the reason is valid.
Peremptory challenges let attorneys dismiss jurors without giving a reason, and the number is capped. In civil cases, each side gets six. Criminal cases allow more: each side gets ten for most offenses, and twenty for charges carrying a potential life sentence or death.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 231 Peremptory challenges cannot be used to exclude jurors based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation.
Alternate Jurors
Courts also seat one or more alternates. They sit through the entire trial, hear the same evidence, and follow the same rules. If a regular juror becomes ill, has an emergency, or is dismissed, the judge draws an alternate to replace them.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1089 Each side gets additional peremptory challenges equal to the number of alternates called.
Choosing a Bench Trial Instead
Not every case goes to a jury. Parties can waive the right to a jury trial by written or oral consent, by failing to request a jury when the case is first set for trial, or by failing to pay the required jury fees.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 631 When a jury is waived, the judge alone decides both the facts and the law. In criminal cases, both the defendant and the prosecution must agree to waive the jury.
Opening Statements
Once the jury is sworn in, each side delivers an opening statement. This is not evidence and not argument. It is a roadmap of what the evidence will show. The plaintiff (in a civil case) or the prosecutor (in a criminal case) goes first because that side carries the burden of proof. The defense follows, though some defense attorneys delay their opening until after the other side finishes presenting its case.
Presenting Evidence
The evidence phase is the heart of the trial and usually takes the longest. The side with the burden of proof presents its case first, calling witnesses and introducing exhibits such as documents, photographs, or physical objects.
Direct Examination and Cross-Examination
When an attorney calls their own witness, the questioning is called direct examination, and the questions must be open-ended because attorneys cannot lead their own witnesses toward a particular answer. After direct, the opposing attorney cross-examines. Cross is where credibility gets tested. The attorney can ask leading questions, challenge inconsistencies, and probe memory or perception. After the plaintiff or prosecution finishes its entire case and rests, the defense can present its own evidence and witnesses, though in a criminal case the defense is never required to present anything at all.
Common Objections
Attorneys police each other’s questions through objections. The judge rules on each one immediately, either sustaining or overruling it. The ones that come up most often:
- Hearsay: an out-of-court statement offered to prove that what it says is true. California’s hearsay rule makes this inadmissible unless a specific exception applies.9California Legislative Information. California Evidence Code 1200
- Relevance: the evidence has nothing to do with the issues or is not important to deciding who should win.
- Leading question: the attorney is steering their own witness toward an answer during direct examination.
- Unfair prejudice: the evidence would inflame the jury in a way that outweighs what it actually proves.
- Asked and answered: the attorney is repeating a question the witness already answered, often fishing for a better response.
Evidentiary rulings are one of the main reasons cases get appealed. Letting in evidence that should have been excluded, or keeping out evidence that should have come in, can form the basis for overturning a verdict.
Closing Arguments
After both sides rest, the attorneys deliver closing arguments. Unlike opening statements, closings are persuasive. Each attorney ties the evidence together, highlights what supports their side, and explains why the other side’s version falls short. The plaintiff or prosecutor argues first and, because that side carries the burden of proof, typically gets a brief rebuttal after the defense’s closing. If the defense chooses not to make a closing argument, the plaintiff or prosecution loses the right to rebut.
Jury Instructions and Burden of Proof
Before the jury retires, the judge reads a detailed set of instructions explaining the law they must apply. California uses standardized plain-language instructions: CALCRIM for criminal cases and CACI for civil cases.10Judicial Branch of California. California Jury Instructions These define every legal element the jury must evaluate, explain the burden of proof, and tell the jury how to handle conflicting evidence and witness credibility.
The standard of proof is one of the most consequential differences between civil and criminal trials. In a civil case, the plaintiff must prove their claims by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the jury finds it more likely than not that the plaintiff’s version is true. In a criminal case, the prosecution faces a far higher bar: proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That does not require 100 percent certainty, but the jury must be firmly convinced of guilt. The gap between these two standards exists because a criminal conviction can mean prison.
Deliberation and the Verdict
Once instructed, the jury goes to a private room to discuss the case. They can review exhibits, request read-backs of testimony, and ask the judge to clarify instructions. Deliberation takes as long as it takes. Simple cases wrap up in hours; complex ones can stretch into weeks.
How the jury votes depends on whether the case is civil or criminal, and this is where California’s rules split. In a criminal case, the verdict must be unanimous. All twelve jurors must agree on guilty or not guilty for each charge. The California Constitution’s guarantee of trial by jury has been read by the California Supreme Court to include the right to a unanimous verdict in criminal matters, and the U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity in all state criminal trials.2Justia. California Constitution Article I Section 16 – Declaration of Rights
In a civil case, only three-fourths of the jury needs to agree, so nine out of twelve must reach the same conclusion. When the jury returns its verdict, the foreperson signs a written form, the clerk reads it aloud, and either side can ask the court to poll each juror individually.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 618
When the Jury Cannot Agree
Sometimes a jury cannot reach the required level of agreement. In a criminal case, this is called a hung jury. California law says the jury cannot be discharged after getting the case until they have agreed on a verdict, unless the court determines there is no reasonable probability they will ever agree.12California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1140 At that point the judge declares a mistrial. A mistrial does not mean the defendant goes free; the prosecution can retry the case from scratch with a new jury.
After the Verdict
A verdict is not always the end. The losing party can file post-trial motions asking the trial judge to set aside or modify the result. A motion for a new trial argues that something went wrong, such as juror misconduct, newly discovered evidence, or errors in the jury instructions. These motions must be filed quickly after the verdict.
If post-trial motions fail, the next step is an appeal. An appeal is not a second trial. The appellate court does not hear new witnesses or review new evidence. It examines the written record from the trial to decide whether the judge made a legal error that affected the outcome. The most common grounds are that the judge applied the wrong legal standard, improperly admitted or excluded evidence, or gave the jury incorrect instructions. Winning on appeal does not necessarily mean winning the case outright; the appellate court usually sends the case back for a new trial with the error corrected.
Courtroom Conduct
If you are attending a California trial as a party, witness, or observer, the expectations are strict. Dress respectfully. Hats, sunglasses, and clothing with offensive images or language are typically not permitted. Turn your phone off or set it to silent before entering. Recording devices, food, and drinks are generally prohibited. Stand when the judge enters and exits. Address the judge as “Your Honor.” Do not speak out of turn, react loudly to testimony, or argue with anyone in the courtroom.
Judges have broad power to hold anyone in contempt of court for disruptive behavior, from interrupting proceedings to ignoring a direct order. Contempt can result in fines or jail time, and unlike most legal proceedings, the judge can impose those penalties on the spot for conduct that happens in the courtroom.