The decision, which upholds a ruling by a judge in Marin County, is expected to delay Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to resume executions, the San Jose Mercury News reported. A legal challenge to the new execution procedure cannot begin until the state has the protocol officially in place.

California has executed 13 people since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out all existing death penalty laws while declining to outlaw the death penalty. The state now has 670 people on death row, including some who have exhausted their appeals.

A federal judge found the state's procedure to be "broken" in December 2006. The state held its most recent execution Jan. 17, 2006.

The administration can appeal Friday's ruling to the state Supreme Court.