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A subpoena is a legal document that may be issued in a criminal, civil (lawsuit) or administrative proceeding. Generally, however, subpoenas received by faculty members and staff employees are issued for civil proceedings. Most often, subpoenas are issued to require a component institution to produce documents.
A subpoena may be served once a lawsuit is filed (or on special occasion before a lawsuit is filed) in order to require an individual to give testimony at a deposition, hearing or trial, or to give documents or other tangible things to one of the parties in the lawsuit. The subpoena must meet several specific requirements before it is legally enforceable. An attorney in the Office of General Counsel will review the subpoena to determine whether it is enforceable and, if not, take the necessary steps to inform the person who issued the subpoena or the court. An employee can be sanctioned by the court in which the case is pending for failing to respond to a subpoena within the timeframe set out in the document.
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