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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.
A subpoena (/ s ə ˈ p iː. n ə /; [1] also subpœna, supenna or subpena [2]) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoenas:
The subpoena duces tecum is similar to the subpoena ad testificandum, which is a writ summoning a witness to testify orally. However, unlike the latter summons, the subpoena duces tecum instructs the witness to bring in hand books, papers, or evidence for the court. In most jurisdictions, a subpoena usually has to be served personally.
A national security letter (NSL) is an administrative subpoena issued by the United States government to gather information for national security purposes. NSLs do not require prior approval from a judge.
After Congress demanded changes, ICE officials will now have to get approval from senior leaders before issuing an administrative subpoena to members of the media.View Entire Post ›
A civil investigative demand (CID) is a discovery tool used by a number of executive agencies in the United States to obtain information relevant to an investigation. By contrast with other discovery mechanisms, CIDs are typically issued before a complaint has been filed by the government in order to commence a lawsuit against the recipient of the CID. [1]
A national security letter (18 U.S.C. § 2709), an administrative subpoena used by the FBI, has an attached gag order which restricts the recipient from ever saying anything about being served with one. [55] The government has issued hundreds of thousands of such NSLs accompanied with gag orders. The gag orders have been upheld in court. [56]
The subpoena is a process in the name of the court or a judge, carrying with it a command dignified by the sanction of the law. [33] A subpoena has been called a mandate lawfully issued under the seal of the court by a clerk thereof. [34] In general, the norm is to have the clerk of the court issue the subpoena for an upcoming trial in that ...