Does anyone have any practical tips and tactics on issuing an out of state subpoena? I have never issued one before and I could use any help about how to speak with an out of state judge, what should be in our court's statement that the witness's testimony is material, etc. Thanks for everyone's help!


Steven L.

I usually restate the language of our indictment and then give a general statement of what we expect the witness to testify too, i.e. "he saw defendant shoot the victim." If I'm worried about revealing too much, then I'll send the other jurisdiction a separate affidavit showing why the testimony is material and my motion merely recites that the testimony is necessary and material. To the extent possible, make sure that you and/or your investigator give as much information as possible to the DA's office in the jurisdiction where the witness is located. You have to remember that this is an extra burden for them and that they won't have the time to investigate a year old address for some guy for whom they have no description or other information. I'd try to get the paperwork to them at least a month prior to your trial, since many jurisdictions throughout the country don't have court every day. One of the biggest challenges for me has been finding the DA's office in question . . .

Contact Cami Sandifer, Deputy Chief Investigator in Denton County. She provides instruction on this to investigators around the state.

There are serveral seminar papers online that deal with this issue and have forms to work from.

The links are here:

Link1

Link2

I also have forms that I have used in the past. If you want to email me at rduboise@sbcglobal.net I would be happy to save you some typing.

I generally find that going through the local DA's office is the way to go. They know where to file, know the judge, and can generally get a quicker setting.

Good advice from all. The key is communication with the out of state jurisdiction. Many courts require the witness receive a check for expenses up front and want documentation of travel arrangements, so be prepared. Again, the locals can give you the heads up if that is their standard practice. We've had several out of state horror stories, both outgoing and incoming, and have learned some tricks I'd be happy to share.
Reminder: Out of state subpoenas and the Uniform Act (CCP Art 24.28)are to secure people, not records. If you need records from BFE and they won't/can't honor our subpoena, the painful answer is to start the out of state process for the records custodian. If it is granted, it will increase the cost of those pages exponentially.