Power of Subpoena
Only a justice can issue a subpoena, and a justice can issue a
subpoena only as follows. The presiding justice in a court proceeding
can issue a subpoena, commanding a named person to give testimony as
part of that proceeding, if and only if the truthful testimony of that
named person has the specific and plausible potential to affect the
final decision of that justice in the proceeding. In particular, the
person must have been alleged in sworn court testimony to have
directly observed, or been a direct participant in, the activities
under scrutiny in the proceeding. At his sole discretion, the person
can testify remotely by electronic apparatus, or can appear in court,
but in either case must do so at a time specified in the subpoena by
the justice.
If the person named in the subpoena is not located within the
jurisdiction of the proceeding court, the justice of that court must
file a request that the subpoena be issued with a court whose
jurisdiction includes the location where the subpoena is to be served.
The request must first be filed with the court most local to that
location. A court must issue a subpoena pursuant to a subpoena
request if the motivation for the subpoena would be sufficient if the
entire case were tried in that court, and otherwise must deny it.
A party affected by a subpoena can challenge the validity of a
subpoena by bringing a motion in the issuing court, and must be
offered an opportunity to argue in court for his position. All
subpoena decisions can be appealed as any other court decision, and no
subpoena can be enforced if an appeal thereof is pending.
A subpoena must be issued with at least 1 week of notice.
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This is a preliminary draft. Pending changes are in The To-Do List