TITLE SIX — TRIAL
Rule 32. Subpoena
For Attendance of Witnesses; Form; Issuance. Every subpoena shall be issued by the clerk of court, shall state the name of the court and the title of the action, and shall command each person to whom it is directed to do the following at a specified time and place: to attend and give testimony; to produce designated documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in that person’s possession, custody, or control; or to permit inspection of premises. The clerk shall issue a subpoena signed but otherwise in blank, to a party requesting it, who shall fill it in before service.
Contents. Every subpoena shall further state the case number of the action; shall identify the person to whom it is directed by the username under which that person is known, or by such other description as identifies that person; shall state the time of compliance in Coordinated Universal Time; shall state the place of compliance, which may be the proceeding communications for the case; shall bear the seal of the court kept by the Clerk under 3 R. Stat. § 131.105; and shall set out or attach the text of subdivisions (6), (7), (9), and (12) of this rule.
Issuing Court. A subpoena shall issue from the court in which the action is pending.
Deposition Subpoena. A subpoena commanding attendance at a deposition shall state the method by which the testimony will be recorded, which may be ordinary audio recording as Rule 23(1)(c) permits.
Signature of the Requesting Party. A party who completes a subpoena issued in blank shall sign it. The signature constitutes a certification that the subpoena is sought for a purpose permitted by these rules, that its command is within the scope of Rule 19(2), and that the party has complied with subdivision (10).
Blank Subpoenas. The Clerk shall issue a subpoena in blank to a party or to an attorney of record upon request, and need not inquire into the ground of the request. Issuance in blank is not a determination that the subpoena is proper.
Confidential Matters. In a matter whose case type the electronic filing system designates confidential, the general filing channel is closed and process issues only through the workflow that owns the matter. In such a matter a party seeking a subpoena shall apply to the court, which shall direct the manner of issuance and service.
Combining or Separating a Command to Produce or to Permit Inspection; Specifying the Form for Electronically Stored Information. A command to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things or to permit the inspection of premises may be included in a subpoena commanding attendance at a deposition, hearing, or trial, or may be set out in a separate subpoena. A subpoena may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced. A party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a subpoena must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena. The court upon motion made promptly and in any event at or before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance therewith, may quash or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable and oppressive. A command in a subpoena to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things requires the responding person to permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the materials. A person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit inspection of premises, need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless also commanded to appear for a deposition, hearing, or trial.
Sanction for Undue Burden. The court shall enforce the duty stated in this subdivision and may impose an appropriate sanction upon a party or attorney who fails to comply with it, which may include the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the failure. A motion under this paragraph is governed by 7 R. Stat. §§ 132.301 through 132.304 so far as those sections apply.
Quashing or Modifying. A motion to quash or to modify is governed by subdivision (9).
Service. A subpoena may be served by any person who is not a party to the proceedings. Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such person through direct messaging.
Service by the Sheriff. All process in civil actions is directed to the sheriffs of the State, as 7 R. Stat. § 131.101 provides, and shall be served by the Sheriff of the county where the person to be served is found except where these rules otherwise indicate, as 7 R. Stat. § 131.102 provides. This subdivision is such an indication. At the request of the party who obtained the subpoena, the Sheriff shall serve it.
Manner. Service is made by delivering a copy of the subpoena to the person to whom it is directed by direct message to that person’s account, or by delivering a copy in-game or in person. Service upon a person represented by an attorney of record in the action may be made upon the attorney.
Time of Service. Service is complete when the copy is transmitted to the person served. The hour of service shall be recorded in Coordinated Universal Time.
Fees. No fee for attendance need be tendered with a subpoena. A person subpoenaed may seek an order under subdivision (9)(c) conditioning compliance upon reasonable compensation.
Subpoenas for Taking Deposition and for Command to Produce. The subpoena commanding the person to whom it is directed to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, which constitute or contain evidence relating to any of the matters within the scope of the examination permitted by these rules, is subject to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this rule. A subpoena upon a party which commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or things must give the party at least seventy-two (72) hours for compliance after service thereof. The court may allow a shorter or longer time. If objection is made, the party serving the subpoena shall not be entitled to inspect, copy, test, or sample the materials or inspect the premises except pursuant to an order of the court from which the subpoena was issued. The party serving the subpoena may, if an objection is made, move at any time upon notice to the commanded person for an order compelling production or inspection. Such an order to compel production or inspection shall protect a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer from undue burden or expense resulting from compliance.
Time for Objection. A written objection under this subdivision shall be served upon the party or attorney designated in the subpoena before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or twenty-four (24) hours after the subpoena is served.
Contents of an Objection. An objection shall state each ground relied upon with particularity. A general objection preserves nothing. An objection that the requested electronically stored information is not reasonably accessible shall specify the reason.
Partial Compliance. A person who objects to part of a subpoena shall comply with the remainder within the time specified.
Person Not a Party. A person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer shall have at least seventy-two (72) hours for compliance after service, and the court shall protect that person from undue burden or expense.
Subpoena for a Hearing or Trial. At the request of any party subpoenas for attendance or to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things at a hearing or trial shall be issued by the Clerk as subdivision (1) provides.
Duration of the Command. A person commanded to attend a hearing or trial shall remain subject to the subpoena, and shall remain present in the proceeding communications, until excused by the court under Rule 27(5)(f).
Adjournment. Where a hearing or trial is adjourned, a subpoena for attendance continues in effect for the adjourned session without re-service, provided the court states the adjourned hour upon the record and the person subpoenaed is present or is notified.
Duties in Responding to a Subpoena.
Producing Documents or Electronically Stored Information. These procedures apply to producing documents or electronically stored information:
Documents. A person responding to a subpoena that requires production of documents shall produce them as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond to the categories in the demand. Other than for a deposition, hearing, or trial, unless the production of original documents is requested, the producing party may produce copies of the documents, including by electronic means, provided that, if requested, the producing party affords all parties a fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals. Documentation may be uploaded, dependent on the rules implemented by the presiding judge, to a trusted file hosting website.
Form for producing electronically stored information not specified. If a subpoena does not specify a form for producing electronically stored information, the person responding shall produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form or forms.
Electronically stored information produced in only one form. The person responding need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one form.
Inaccessible electronically stored information. The person responding may object to the discovery of inaccessible electronically stored information, and any such objection shall specify the reason that such discovery is inaccessible. On motion to compel or for a protective order, the person claiming inaccessibility bears the burden of showing inaccessibility.
Production through the electronic filing system. Where material produced under a subpoena is to become part of the record, it shall be filed through the electronic filing system as a document within a filing, subject to the limit of fifty (50) megabytes for each document. Material produced to a party and not offered in evidence need not be filed.
Platform and in-game records. Where the material subpoenaed consists of messages, logs, or records maintained by the platform on which the proceeding communications are conducted, or by an in-game system, the person responding shall produce them in the form maintained, without alteration, and shall state whether any part has been deleted or edited and by whom, so far as known.
Claiming Privilege or Protection.
Information withheld. A person withholding subpoenaed information under a claim that it is privileged or subject to protection as trial-preparation material shall make the claim expressly and provide information that will enable the parties to assess the claim.
Information mistakenly produced. If information produced in response to a subpoena is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material, the person making the claim may notify any party that received the information of the claim and the basis for it. After being notified, a party shall promptly return, sequester, or destroy the specified information and every copy it has; shall not use or disclose the information until the claim is resolved; shall take reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the party disclosed it before being notified; and may present the question to the court for determination. The person who produced the information shall preserve it until the claim is resolved.
Determination by the court. The electronic filing system provides no document-level sealing and no redaction. Material submitted for the court’s determination of a claim of privilege shall not be filed. The court shall receive it by such means outside the record as the court directs, shall examine it in camera, and shall state upon the record its ruling and the ground of the ruling without disclosing the matter claimed to be privileged.
Privileges. The privileges recognized in this State are those stated in Rid. R. Evid. 501 through 510, and no other privilege shall be recognized, as Rid. R. Evid. 502 provides.
Contempt. Failure by any person without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena served upon him may be deemed a contempt of the court in which the action is pending.
Procedure. On motion of a party or on its own, the court may enter an order directing a person who has failed to obey a subpoena to show cause, within a period the court fixes and which shall not be less than twenty-four (24) hours, why that person should not be held in contempt. The order shall be entered upon the docket and shall be served upon the person by direct message and, where that person has an attorney of record, upon the attorney.
Sanctions. Where the court finds a contempt, it may impose the sanctions available under Rule 53, may order the person to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the failure, and may enter such further order as justice requires. Against a party, the court may in addition proceed under Rule 26.3.
Adequate Excuse. It is an adequate excuse that the subpoena was not served as this rule requires; that the person did not receive it; that compliance would require disclosure of privileged matter; that a timely motion to quash or to modify was pending and undetermined at the time fixed for compliance; or that compliance was impossible for a reason not attributable to the person subpoenaed.
Person Neither a Party Nor a Party’s Officer. The court shall not hold a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer in contempt for failing to comply with a command that exceeds the limits of subdivision (8) or that the court has quashed or modified.
Territorial Reach; Place of Compliance.
Reach. All summons, subpoenas, and other process in civil actions run throughout the State, as 7 R. Stat. § 131.101 provides. A subpoena issued under this rule may be served upon any person within the State and there is no other territorial limit upon its service.
Place of Compliance for Testimony. A subpoena may command a person to attend and give testimony in the proceeding communications for the case, at a place within the State that the court designates, or in-game at a location the court designates.
Place of Compliance for Production or Inspection. A subpoena may command production by transmission to the party who obtained it, by filing through the electronic filing system, or at a place within the State that the subpoena designates. A subpoena commanding the inspection of premises shall designate the premises to be inspected.
Quashing or Modifying a Subpoena.
When Required. On timely motion the court shall quash or modify a subpoena that:
fails to allow a reasonable time to comply, and in no event less than the period fixed by subdivision (4);
requires compliance beyond the limits of subdivision (8);
requires the disclosure of privileged or otherwise protected matter, where no exception or waiver applies;
was not issued or served as this rule requires; or
subjects a person to undue burden.
When Permitted. To protect a person subject to or affected by a subpoena, the court may on motion quash or modify it where it requires the disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, or the disclosure of an unretained expert’s opinion or information that does not describe specific occurrences in dispute and that results from the expert’s study not requested by a party.
Conditions as an Alternative. In the circumstances described in paragraph (b), the court may, instead of quashing or modifying the subpoena, order appearance or production upon specified conditions where the party serving the subpoena shows a substantial need for the testimony or material that cannot otherwise be met without undue hardship, and ensures that the person subpoenaed will be reasonably compensated.
Timing. A motion under this subdivision shall be made promptly and in any event before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance. A motion made after that time shall be entertained only for good cause shown.
Effect of a Pending Motion. The filing of a timely motion under this subdivision suspends the obligation to comply until the court rules, unless the court orders otherwise.
Notice to Other Parties Before Service. Where a subpoena commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or the inspection of premises, before trial, the party who obtained it shall, before it is served upon the person to whom it is directed, file a notice and a copy of the subpoena through the electronic filing system, by which every other participant is served upon its acceptance for filing. A subpoena served without that prior notice may be quashed under subdivision (9)(a)(4).
Proof of Service; Return.
Return. The person who serves a subpoena shall file a return of service through the electronic filing system stating the date and hour of service in Coordinated Universal Time, the manner of service, and the username of the person served. Where service was made by direct message, the return shall include a record of the transmission.
Effect of Failure. Failure to file a return does not affect the validity of the service, but the court shall not enforce a subpoena by contempt under subdivision (7) in the absence of proof of service satisfactory to the court.
Service by the Sheriff. Where the Sheriff serves a subpoena, the return is made by the Sheriff, and no affidavit is required.
Protecting a Person Subject to a Subpoena. A party or attorney responsible for issuing and serving a subpoena shall take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense upon the person subject to it. A person subject to a subpoena may move for a protective order under Rule 19(3), which binds the persons before the court and is enforceable by contempt under Rule 53. Neither this rule nor any order under it shall be construed to seal a document filed through the electronic filing system, which provides no document-level sealing.
Subpoena to the State, a County, a Municipality, or an Agency. A subpoena directed to an agency or department of a county or municipal government shall be served upon the administrative head of that agency or department, and a subpoena directed to the State of Ridgeway shall be served upon the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, in the manner provided for process by 7 R. Stat. §§ 131.105 and 131.106. A subpoena to a corporation shall be served upon its registered agent or a corporate officer, as 7 R. Stat. § 131.104 provides for process.
Records of Law Enforcement and In-Game Systems. Entries in the in-game warrants system, recorded law-enforcement radio transmissions, custodial records of the Department of Corrections, and other official records maintained by an agency of this State are subject to subpoena under this rule. The custodian shall produce them in the form in which they are maintained and shall state whether the record produced is complete. Their admissibility as official records is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 1005 and their authentication by Rid. R. Evid. 901 and 902. A subpoena under this subdivision remains subject to the investigatory privilege stated in Rid. R. Evid. 506.