It’s a day like any other day. You are going about your business when it happens. There’s a knock on the door and when you open it, you are greeted by a mercantile agent serving you with a subpoena.
Receiving a subpoena can be an intimidating and scary event. Often, it leaves the recipient feeling helpless and confused, especially if they have not been through the process before. There are usually more questions than answers and you may not fully understand your rights and responsibilities.
A subpoena is an order of the court, to either produce documents or to give evidence. You may receive a subpoena if you are involved in a legal case or if you are considered to be a witness in legal proceedings. Unless set aside a subpoena must be complied with and a failure to obey could lead to contempt.
Do I have to comply?
Receiving a subpoena is a serious matter and must not be ignored. If you do not comply with the court’s request, you may be found in contempt of court and a warrant for your arrest issued. That said, there may be grounds for contesting the validity of a subpoena.
In order to be valid, the information outlined in the subpoena must be relevant to the case, and cannot be too broad or ambiguous in nature. The courts are aware of the amount of time and money required to produce information and may consider a subpoena oppressive if it includes a request for substantially more information than is necessary and/or where it would be onerous to comply with. Subpoenas should clearly state what is required and can be considered ambiguous if they do not.
You may object to a subpoena, however, you will probably need legal advice to do so. In either situation, it is extremely important that you follow the proper procedures and time requirements outlined by the court rules.
As a litigation lawyer, our Principal Solicitor has assisted numerous clients in the Sydney area, helping them understand the subpoena, gather documents, prepare appropriate responses or determine if they should object to the request due to it being a fishing expedition, oppressive or some other reason. If you have received a subpoena and would like more information, simply call us at +61 2 8644 0663 to book a consultation.
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