Louisiana Subpoena
In Louisiana the money moves before the paper does. Nothing is served until you deposit the estimated $50 a day attendance fee and travel expenses with the clerk of court. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Pre-funding is what makes a Louisiana subpoena different. Under La. R.S. 13:3661(C), no witness shall be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing unless the party who desires the testimony has deposited with the clerk of court the estimated attendance fee and travel expenses, and Code of Civil Procedure article 1352 drives the point home by providing that no subpoena shall issue to compel attendance unless the provisions of R.S. 13:3661 are complied with. So the order of operations runs money, then paper, then service. The amounts the deposit has to cover are set in R.S. 13:3661(B): travel expenses to and from the courthouse at a rate equal to the rate in effect for state officials, plus an attendance fee of fifty dollars for each day the witness is required to appear in court. In a case of exceptional hardship the court may increase the travel expenses. Once the witness turns up, the clerk of court pays immediately, as soon as the witness has answered the subpoena and appeared for the purpose of testifying, which means you are not handing cash to a stranger at the door. Issuance belongs to the clerk of the court wherein the action is pending, who issues under the seal of the court at the request of the court or a party (article 1351). Reach is set by connection to the state rather than by distance: a witness, whether a party or not, who resides or is employed in Louisiana may be subpoenaed to attend wherever the trial or hearing is held in the state. DocDraft prepares your Louisiana subpoena from your facts, and attorney review is available before you take it to the clerk.
Key Things to Know
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A Louisiana subpoena is an order issued under the seal of the court in a pending action that commands a named person to attend a trial, hearing or deposition until discharged, and in the duces tecum form to produce described books, papers, documents, tangible things or electronically stored information.
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The attendance fee is fifty dollars for each day the witness is required to appear in court, and travel expenses to and from the courthouse are paid at a rate equal to the rate in effect for state officials (La. R.S. 13:3661(B)). In a case of exceptional hardship the court may increase the travel expenses.
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No witness may be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing unless the requesting party has first deposited the estimated attendance fee and travel expenses with the clerk of court (La. R.S. 13:3661(C)), and no subpoena issues to compel attendance unless that statute is satisfied (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1352).
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The clerk of court pays the witness the attendance fee and travel expenses immediately, once the witness has answered the subpoena and appeared for the purpose of testifying (La. R.S. 13:3661(D)).
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The clerk of the court wherein the action is pending issues the subpoena at the request of the court or a party. It issues under the seal of the court, names the court and the title of the action, and commands attendance at a specified time and place until discharged (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1351).
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Reach depends on connection to the state, not distance. A witness, whether a party or not, who resides or is employed in Louisiana may be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing wherever held in the state (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1352).
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A person who without reasonable excuse fails to obey may be adjudged in contempt of the issuing court, and the court may order a recalcitrant witness to be attached and brought to court forthwith or on a designated day (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1357).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Subpoena guide walks through them.
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Louisiana Requirements for Subpoena
Attendance Fee of $50 for Each Day of Appearance
La. R.S. 13:3661(B) sets an attendance fee of fifty dollars for each day that the witness is required to appear in court. Estimate the number of appearance days before you fund the deposit, because the deposit is what the clerk of court pays out.
Travel Expenses at the State Official Rate
Witnesses are paid their travel expenses to and from the courthouse at a rate equal to the rate in effect for state officials (La. R.S. 13:3661(B)). No cents figure appears in the statute, and in cases of exceptional hardship the court may increase the travel expenses paid to the witness (subsection (E)).
Deposit With the Clerk Before Anything Issues
No witness shall be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing unless the requesting party has deposited the estimated attendance fee and travel expenses with the clerk of court (La. R.S. 13:3661(C)), and no subpoena shall issue to compel attendance unless that statute is complied with (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1352).
The Clerk of Court Pays on Appearance
The witness shall be paid the attendance fee and travel expenses immediately by the clerk of court when the witness has answered the subpoena and has appeared for the purpose of testifying (La. R.S. 13:3661(D)). Payment happens at the courthouse, not at the door during service.
Issued by the Clerk Under the Seal of the Court
The clerk of the court wherein the action is pending, at the request of the court or a party, shall issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses. A subpoena shall issue under the seal of the court, shall state the name of the court and the title of the action, and shall command attendance at a time and place specified, until discharged (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1351).
Residence or Employment in the State, Not Distance
A witness, whether a party or not, who resides or is employed in this state may be subpoenaed to attend a trial or hearing wherever held in this state (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1352; La. R.S. 13:3661(A)). The grounded text contains no mileage radius, and the federal hundred-mile rule does not apply here.
Reasonable Notice Before Inspecting Nonparty Records
A party may have a subpoena duces tecum served on a person not a party for production and copying, provided a reasonably accurate description is given. A reasonable notice of the intended inspection specifying date, time and place must be served on all other parties, stating that they may attend and participate (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1463(B)). The standard is reasonableness, not a fixed day count.
Contempt and Attachment of a Recalcitrant Witness
A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to obey a subpoena may be adjudged in contempt of the court which issued it, and the court may also order a recalcitrant witness to be attached and brought to court forthwith or on a designated day (Code Civ. Proc. art. 1357).