Server's Corner

Answering Your Questions About Subpoenas

Unless you are like us at Roland Investigations, you probably do not have to deal with legal things like financial investigations, skip tracing, and serving legal papers very often. Because of this, you may not be very fluent in legal talk should you be presented with a legal situation. We know this, and that is why we endeavor to help you get a better understanding of the legal world here on our blog.

One area you may be fuzzy in is when it comes to subpoenas. We have all heard of them, but what exactly are they?

What is a Subpoena?

The term subpoena literally translates “under penalty”. It is a court ordered command that requires some sort of action on your part. It may require you to produce documents or to testify in a certain legal proceeding, deposition, trial or other hearing. Subpoenas will all have a court-imposed deadline.

Are There Different Types of Subpoenas?

There are three different types of subpoenas. A Witness Subpoena, A Subpoena Duces Tecum, and A Deposition Subpoena.

Usually in the case of a trial, A Witness Subpoena will require you to appear in court and testify as a witness.

A Subpoena Duces Tecum may or may not require you to come in person. This type of subpoena literally means, “subpoena for production of evidence”. It will require you to either deliver, mail, or email books, papers, or other documents relating to a case.

A Deposition Subpoena will require you to either appear at a deposition to answer questions or provide copies of business records. This is different from a Subpoena Duces Tecum because the information you provide is done before the trial as part of the “discovery process”.

What Happens if You Ignore a Subpoena?

As the meaning of subpoena is “under penalty”, it should not be surprising that failure to comply would result in penalties. Specifically, it would be punishable as contempt. Typically, a hearing would occur where the party charged with noncompliance would be given an opportunity to explain himself. Based on the explanation given, the court will decide what punishment is appropriate. Usually this will be an order to produce along with fees.

If you have been served a subpoena, it is best to comply by the deadline given. If you are in need of having a subpoena served, however, Roland Investigations can do just that. Our team of servers are qualified and educated on local and out of state laws. So, you can be assured that when you contact us, the rest is taken care of.

By Roland Investigations 11-21-2019