I. WHAT IS A SUBPOENA?

•Asubpoenaisacourtordereventhoughitcanbesignedbyanattorney.-Doesnotrequireasignaturebyajudgeorclerk.

•Asubpoenacompelsanindividualorbusinessentity,whichisnotapartyinthecase,todosomethinginconnectionwithalawsuit: (1)Appearatahearing,trialordeposition;

(2)Producedocuments;OR(3)Both.

II. TYPES OF SUBPOENAS

Therearefivedifferenttypesofsubpoenas:

1.CivilSubpoenaforPersonalAppearanceatTrialorHearing2.CivilSubpoena(DucesTecum)forPersonalAppearanceandProductionofDocuments,ElectronicallyStoredInformation,andThingsatTrialorHearing3.DepositionSubpoenaforPersonalAppearance4.DepositionSubpoenaforProductionofBusinessRecords5.DepositionSubpoenaforPersonalAppearanceandProductionofDocumentsandThings

III. WHO CAN ISSUE A SUBPOENA ?

Onlyapartyinthelawsuitcanissueasubpoena.Alwaysconfirmthesubpoenacontainsthefollowinginformation(topboxarea):

1. Attorneynameandaddress2. Courtnameandaddress3. NamesofPlaintiffandDefendant4. Casenumber

IV. PROPER SERVICE OF A SUBPOENA

•Onlyoneway–personaldelivery.(CCP §1987(a).)

•Faxesarenotacceptable.•Youmaydesignateauthorityforsomeonetoreceiveonyourbehalf.Forexample,alawfirmmayreceiveonbehalfofaclientifgivenauthoritytodosoandcommunicatedtopersonservingsubpoena.•Shouldbedeliveredtoeither:

(1)Thepersonnamed

(2)Ifanentityisnamed,anofficer,director,custodianofrecords,oranyauthorizedemployeemayaccepttheservice

(3)Thereisaspecialruleforpublicemployees–animmediatesupervisorcanbeservedwithtwo copies(Govt Code §68097.1.)

V. TIME TO RESPOND

•Ifthesubpoenaisforapersonalappearance,youmustbegivena“reasonabletime”tocomply.(CCP §2020.220(a).)

•Courtshaveheldthat“reasonable”isapproximately10calendardays.

•Thisappliestosubpoenasforeitheranappearanceoranappearancewiththeproductionofrecords.

•Ifsubpoenaisfor“businessrecords”only–itmustbegivenat least15calendardaystoproduce.(CCP §2020.410(c).)

•Additionaltimemayberequiredwhenpersonalrecordsaresought.Suchrecordsincludeemploymentrecords,financialrecordsandstudentrecords.Additionalnoticetothepersonwhoserecordsarerequestedwillberequired.Alwaysverifythatsuchnoticewasgivenbytheattorneywhoissuedthesubpoena(seesectiononNoticetoConsumerformoreinformation)beforeproducingdocuments.

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VI. WITNESS FEES

Youmaybeowedthefollowingfeesforpersonalappearances:

1.Currentwitnessfee:$35.00perday+$.20permile,both ways (Government Code §68093; CCP §2020.230(a).)

2.Depositions–Feehastobepaidwhether or notrequestedbythewitness.

3.Trials and hearings–Witnessmustrequestfeeswhenthesubpoenaisdelivered(includingmileagereimbursementandperdiemexpenditureinvaryingamountsdependingonwhetherwitnessisapublicemployee).

4.Ifsubpoenarequiresappearancebyanemployeeofapublicentityregardingmattersrelatedtohisorherofficialduties,thepublicentityisentitledtoreimbursementfortheemployee’ssalaryandtravelexpenses.Whenthesubpoenaisdelivereditmustincludepaymenttothepublicentityof$150/dayforeachdayoftheappearance.Iftheactualsalaryisless,thepublicentitymustrefundthedifference.Ifitismore,itmayinvoiceforadditionalpayment. (Government Code §68096.1; CCP §2020.230(a).)

VII. HOW FAR MUST THE WITNESS TRAVEL?

Youmayberequiredtotravel.Howfardependsonwhattypeofsubpoenayouwereissued.

Depositions •Individualwitnessesmayberequiredtoappeareither:

(a)Within75milesofthewitness’residence;or(b)Withinthecountywherethecaseisfiledandwithin150milesofthewitness’residence.

•Ifwitnesslivesmorethan150milesfromthecountywherethecaseisfiled,the(requesting)partiesmusttakethedepositionwithin75milesofwitnessresidence.

•Businessentitywitnessesmayberequiredtoappeareither:(a)Within75milesoftheprincipalofficeofbusinessentity;or(b)Withinthecountywherethecaseisfiled

Hearings and TrialsYoumaybecompelledtotravelmorethan150milesforahearingortrialincourtifyouarearesidentofthestate.Insuchcases,youmayberequiredtotraveltoanycourtlocationwithinCalifornia.

VIII. DOCUMENT PRODUCTION COSTS

Thepersonorentityrespondingtothesubpoenaisentitledtoreimbursementatthefollowingrates:

•$0.10perpageforregularcopying.•$0.20perpageforcopyingfrommicrofilm.•Actualcostsforoversizeddocumentsordocumentsrequiringspecialprocessing(e.g.,xrays,blueprints).•$24perhour,billedin15minuteincrementsforclericalworktoassemblethedocuments.•Postage.(EvidenceCode§1563.)

IX. NOTICE TO CONSUMER

The“Consumer”isthepersonwhoserecordsarebeingsought.Specialnoticerulesexistwhenthesubpoenaasksfor“personalrecords.”“Personalrecords”includes“any...books,documents,otherwritings,orelectronicdatapertainingtoaconsumerandwhicharemaintainedbya...privateorpublicpreschool,elementaryschool,secondaryschool,orpostsecondaryschool....” (CCP §1985.3)Theremustbeanoticetothepersonwhoserecordsarebeingsoughtsotheyhaveanopportunitytoobject.

ProceduresAcopyofthesubpoenamustgotothepersonwhoserecordsarebeingsoughtfivedaysbeforethesubpoenaisservedonthepublicentity.Makecertainthatyourcopyofthesubpoenaincludesa“NoticetoConsumer ,”whichprovesthattheindividualwhoserecordsarebeingsoughthasreceivedacopy.

X. OBJECTIONS/MOTIONS TO QUASH

Priortothedeadlinetoproducedocumentslistedinthesubpoena,aconcernedpartymayobjectorfileamotiontopreventproduction.It(may/willbe)oneoftwodocuments:

•Objectionfromathirdpartyconsumeroremployee. (CCP §§1985.3(g); 1985.6(f)(3).)•Motiontoquashfromapartytothelawsuit.

Eitherrelievesyourobligationtocomplywiththesubpoenauntilacourtissuesanorderstatingotherwise.

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