Public Defender's Handbook
Subpoenas
The United States Marshal (USM)
serves subpoenas for the government and
for defendants of Public Defenders or Criminal Justice Act (CJA) court-appointed attorneys, if so ordered by the Court. CJA (specifically FEW)
funds are not available to pay for
private process servers and attorneys should not
hire a process server to serve
these subpoenas. (Refer to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure
17(b).)
Before subpoenas can be
served at government expense, it is necessary for
a CJA attorney to provide:
-
a certified court order
(in compliance with the terms of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
17 (b)) listing the names of the witnesses to be subpoenaed and
their addresses. The Order should be accompanied by the completed
subpoenas ready for issuance by the court.
The Court will return a
confirmed copy of the certified order signed by the
Judge authorizing issuance and service of the subpoena, and payment of the costs and fees by the government. A copy
of the certified order allowing for
witnesses to testify at government expense will be sent by the court to
the U.S. Marshal’s office and the
subpoena will then be served.
The U.S. Marshal’s office
should have at least 10 working days for service.
|
