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In the U.S. legal system, service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person so as to force that person to respond to the proceeding in a court, body, or other tribunal.
Suitable age and discretion is both a legal definition of maturity (and by contrast immaturity), [1] and an alternate method of service of process by which a process server can leave a summons, subpoena, or complaint with a person living at the residence of the defendant. [1] [2]
Additionally, court rules may permit lawyers to issue subpoenas themselves in their capacity as officers of the court. [7] Typically subpoenas are issued "in blank" and it is the responsibility of the lawyer representing the party ( plaintiff or defendant ) on whose behalf the testimony is to be given to serve the subpoena on the witness.
A subpoena duces tecum (pronounced in English / s ə ˈ p iː n ə ˌ dj uː s iː z ˈ t iː k ə m / sə-PEE-nə DEW-seez TEE-kəm), or subpoena for production of evidence, is a court summons ordering the recipient to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial. In some jurisdictions ...
An administrative subpoena under U.S. law is a subpoena issued by a federal agency without prior judicial oversight. Critics say that administrative subpoena authority is a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, while proponents say that it provides a valuable investigative tool. [1] [2]
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that upon filing of a complaint the clerk of the court must forthwith issue a summons and deliver the summons to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney who is responsible for the prompt service of the summons and a copy of the complaint. (FRCP 4) The Federal Rule is not concerned with the ...
Discovery did not exist at common law, but its availability in equity attracted litigants in actions at law (legal proceedings in the common law courts). They began to file bills in equity to obtain discovery in aid of actions at law. This led to another innovation in the mid-15th century: the bill to perpetuate testimony of a potential witness.
[14] Congressional rules empower all its standing committees with the authority to compel witnesses to produce testimony and documents for subjects under its jurisdiction. Committee rules may provide for the full committee to issue a subpoena, or permit subcommittees or the chairman (acting alone or with the ranking member) to issue subpoenas.