TITLE TWO — PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS
Rule 17. Summonses for Witnesses
Summons.
For Attendance of Witness; Form; Issuance. A summons shall be issued by the clerk or any person so authorized. It shall state the name of the court and the title, if any, of the proceeding and shall command each person to whom it is directed to attend and give testimony at the time and place specified therein.
Contents. The summons shall identify the case by its case number; shall identify the person summoned by username, or if the username is unknown, by any name or description by which the person can be identified with reasonable certainty; shall state the date and time of attendance in Coordinated Universal Time; shall state the place of attendance, which may be the case’s proceeding communications or an in-game location designated by the court; shall state the party at whose request it issued; and shall state the consequences of a failure to appear under subdivision (d) and the obligation of continued attendance under subdivision (c).
Issuance in Blank. The clerk shall issue a summons in blank to a party or counsel of record on request, and the party or counsel shall complete it before service.
Authority of the Court. The court may summon witnesses in a criminal case, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.301, on the motion of a party or on its own motion.
For Production of Documentary Evidence and of Objects. A summons may also command the person to whom it is directed to produce the books, papers, documents, or other objects designated therein. The court on motion may quash or modify the summons if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive or if the summons is being used to subvert the provisions of rule 14. The court may direct that books, papers, documents, or objects designated in the summons be produced before the court within a reasonable time prior to the trial or prior to the time when they are to be offered in evidence and may upon their production permit the books, papers, documents, objects, or portions thereof to be inspected and copied by the parties and their attorneys if authorized by law.
Electronically Stored Information. A summons under this subdivision may command the production of electronically stored information as defined in Rule 14(a)(9)(A), and shall specify the form of production. Where no form is specified, the person summoned shall produce the information in the form in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form, as provided in Rule 14(a)(9)(C).
Custodian of Records. A summons directed to an agency of the State, a county, or a municipality shall be directed to the custodian of the records sought. The custodian may comply by delivering the records with a certificate identifying them, in which event attendance is excused unless the court orders otherwise.
Order to Produce a Person in Custody. The court may order any law enforcement officer to bring a witness before the court, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.301. Where the witness is in the custody of the Department of Corrections or of a law enforcement agency, the order shall be directed to the officer having custody, shall identify the witness by username, and shall state the date, time, and place of production.
Service.
By Whom; Manner. A summons may be served by any person authorized to serve a summons in a civil action or to serve criminal process. A summons shall be served upon a witness by delivering a copy to him personally.
Delivery Through Discord Messaging. Delivery of a copy to the account of the person summoned through Discord messaging, or delivery of a copy to that person in the case’s proceeding communications where the person is present in that channel, is personal delivery for the purposes of this rule.
Delivery In-Game. Delivery of a copy to the person summoned in-game, where the person is identified by username, is personal delivery for the purposes of this rule.
Place of Service. A summons requiring the attendance of a witness at a hearing or a trial may be served at any place within the State, or within Discord messaging.
Return. The person serving a summons pursuant to this rule shall make a return of service to the court. The return shall state the username of the person served, the manner of service, and the date and time of service in Coordinated Universal Time, and shall be signed by the person making it. The return is made by filing it through the electronic filing system or by entering it upon the record in the proceeding communications.
Time for Service. A summons shall be served not later than twenty-four (24) hours before the time specified for attendance, unless the court for cause shortens that period. The court shall shorten the period only where it finds that the witness can reasonably comply.
Attendance; Duration of the Obligation. A witness summoned shall remain available in attendance until the criminal proceeding is adjudicated, or until excused by the court, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.302. Departure without excusal and before adjudication is punishable as criminal contempt.
Availability in a Discord Proceeding. A witness remains available in attendance by remaining present in the case’s proceeding communications, or by remaining reachable at the account identified in the summons and appearing within a reasonable time upon the court’s call, as the court directs.
Excusal. The court may excuse a witness on the record, and the clerk shall enter the excusal on the docket. Counsel may not excuse a witness.
Failure to Appear. If a person served with a summons pursuant to this rule fails to appear at the time and place specified therein and the court determines that such person did receive actual notice to appear, a warrant may issue to bring that person before the court.
In-Game Entry. A warrant issued under this subdivision shall be placed within the in-game warrants system, in the form prescribed by Rule 6(a)(3).
Contempt. A person who fails to appear, or who departs without excusal in violation of subdivision (c), may be punished for criminal contempt.
Costs. The court may assess against a person who fails to appear the expenses incurred by a party as a result of the failure.
Continuance. Where a summoned witness fails to appear, the court may grant a continuance to the party who summoned the witness upon a showing that the testimony is material and that the party exercised due diligence. The period of such a continuance is excluded from the computation prescribed by Rule 19 only where the continuance is granted on the motion of the defendant.
Quashing or Modifying a Summons. On motion made promptly and in any event before the time specified for compliance, the court may quash or modify a summons where compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive, where the matter sought is privileged, where the summons is being used to subvert Rule 14, or where the time allowed for compliance is insufficient. The court may condition denial of the motion upon terms, including the advance payment of the reasonable cost of producing the material.
Expenses. The court may order the party at whose request a summons issued to pay the reasonable expenses of the person summoned. Where the defendant is indigent or indigent but able to contribute, the summons shall issue at the expense of the State, and the court shall not condition its issuance upon payment.
Summons for a Hearing on a Pretrial Motion. A summons may issue under this rule for a hearing on a pretrial motion, including a hearing on a motion to suppress, on the same terms as for trial.