Subpoena
The subpoena (pronunciation: səˈpiːnə , from the Latin sub poena for under penalty ) is a form of the criminally enforced legal arrangement in the discovery procedure called Discovery under US law and the law of other states. It is used in both criminal and civil law .
Effect and form
With a subpoena, a person is asked to provide certain information or evidence on a matter in a certain way under threat of a coercive penalty. The subpoena thus serves as a means of coercion with which those involved and third parties can be obliged to provide information in or occasionally before a process.
The Subpoena can be directed against a party to judicial or comparable proceedings (e.g. before a committee of inquiry ) and against a person who is neither a party nor a designated witness in the proceedings in question. In civil proceedings , the opposing party is usually entitled to take part in the questioning of the person addressed. The person addressed with the subpoena has the right to be represented by a lawyer .
The subpoena itself is a formal written order from a state institution with administrative or legal jurisdiction, in today's practice usually a court. It is usually drawn up as a brief with a detailed introduction that includes definitions and details of the materials used and the topics studied.
Origin and terms
The legal instrument of the subpoena has its origin in English common law and is said to have been created by John Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury under Richard II . Today it is used in almost all countries whose legal system is based on common law . The historical Latin term subpoena has been replaced in some places by an English expression that is easier to understand, such as witness summons 'subpoena' in civil law in England and Wales. Reports in German-language media occasionally speak of a subpoena in the event of a subpoena . This is imprecise as only one particular form of the subpoena legal instrument actually has the effect of a personal summons from the addressee. A content-wise correct rendering of the term subpoena is limited to a term such as “information order” or “court order to testify”. In principle, subpoena requires information to be provided in writing or verbally. If the subpoena is directed towards oral information ( subpoena ad testificandum - Latin for 'to give testimony'), it then acts as a summons for questioning if the person addressed is ordered to appear in person to testify. If written information is ordered, the subpoena is usually linked to an extensive catalog of evidence, the interrogatories . Furthermore, a written and oral collection of evidence can be combined under the subpoena . It is then a Subpoena duces tecum (Latin: 'bring with you'), with which the addressee is requested to appear for an interview and to bring the documents specified in the request to the questioning authority.
The most common case of a subpoena concerns the release of documents. In this case, the addressee will be asked to submit any documents he has to the court. This form of Subpoena overlaps with a warrant , which is a form of search warrant under Anglo-American law.
