Discovery and evidence
Subpoena
A subpoena is a court-backed command to appear and testify or to produce documents, and it can reach people who are not parties to the case.
A subpoena to testify brings a witness to a deposition, hearing, or trial. A subpoena duces tecum demands records, which is how banks, employers, and phone companies end up in litigation they have nothing to do with.
Recipients are not powerless. They can object, negotiate scope, or move to quash a subpoena that is unduly burdensome, seeks privileged material, or requires travel beyond the geographic limits of the rule.
Non-party subpoenas frequently produce their own mini-litigation, sometimes in a different court where the recipient is located. That is why records disputes involving a bank or a phone carrier can appear on a docket in a district with no other connection to the case.
How it appears on a docket
MOTION to Quash Subpoena Duces Tecum served on non-party Harbor Bank, N.A., asserting that the request for eight years of records is overbroad.
Governing rule
Fed. R. Civ. P. 45; Fed. R. Crim. P. 17
Related terms
- Deposition — A deposition is sworn out-of-court testimony taken in front of a court reporter, where lawyers question a witness on the record.
- Protective Order — A protective order is a court order limiting how discovery material can be used or shared, usually to guard confidential business or personal information.
More on discovery and evidence
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where subpoena actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.