ANSWERS: 1
  • Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides the legal guidelines for issuing and responding to a subpoena. Generally, a subpoena is a legal order to appear for a deposition or court testimony, or to provide documents in a pending lawsuit.

    Generally

    Subpoenas are court orders to perform some action. Rule 45 provides the legal authorization for attorneys and court clerks to issue subpoenas, and it also provides the requirements for responding to a subpoena.

    Time Frame

    Rule 45 authorizes attorneys and court clerks to issue subpoenas at any time during a lawsuit. If you are the person served with a subpoena, then you have at least 14 days to respond, but often you will have even more time. The required response time must be indicated in the subpoena.

    Types

    Rule 45 provides for three types of subpoenas. One type requires a person to appear at a certain date and time to provide testimony, either in court or deposition. Another type requires the person to simply provide copies of documents to one of the parties in the lawsuit. The documents can be mailed or hand-delivered, or just made available for pickup, as dictated by the terms of the subpoena. The third type is a hybrid, which requires both appearance for testimony and the production of written documents.

    Function

    The purpose of Rule 45 is to give parties to a lawsuit access to the witnesses and documents that are required to prove their case. Rule 45 authorizes subpoenas on people or companies that are not parties to the pending lawsuit.

    Warning

    Failure to comply with a subpoena is a violation of a court order, even if the subpoena is just signed by an attorney and not a judge or court clerk. This could result in civil contempt charges if you refuse to comply.

    Source:

    Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 45

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