Oregon Subpoena

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   An Oregon subpoena is a writ or order that commands a person, at a specified time and place, to appear and testify, to produce items for inspection and copying, or to produce records of confidential health information, and it must originate in the court where the action is pending (ORCP 55 A(1) and A(2)).

2. 2

   The Oregon civil witness fee is $30 for each day's attendance, plus mileage at 25 cents a mile (ORS 44.415(1)).

3. 3

   In a criminal proceeding, a proceeding prosecuted by a public body, or any proceeding where a public body is a party, the Oregon rate drops to $5 a day and 8 cents a mile (ORS 44.415(2)).

4. 4

   Oregon mileage is capped: total mileage reimbursement shall not exceed the necessary cost of transportation on reasonably available common carriers, and it is payable even for travel from outside the state (ORS 44.415(1)).

5. 5

   Unless the witness expressly declines payment, the obligation to appear is contingent on fees and mileage being paid when the subpoena is served, and a witness not paid on demand for the next day is not obligated to return (ORCP 55 A(6)(b)).

6. 6

   An attorney of record may issue an Oregon subpoena for that party's witness, and the clerk of the court may issue a blank one to a party on request for the party to complete before service (ORCP 55 A(3)).

7. 7

   A subpoena issued only to command production must be served on all non-defaulting parties at least 7 days before it is served on the person producing, and must allow at least 14 days for production, unless the court orders less time (ORCP 55 C(3)).

Oregon Requirements for Subpoena

• Witness Fee of $30 a Day in a Civil Case

  A person is entitled to receive $30 for each day attendance as a witness in an Oregon civil case (ORS 44.415(1)). In a criminal proceeding, a proceeding prosecuted by a public body, or any proceeding where a public body is a party, the rate is $5 a day instead (ORS 44.415(2)).

• Mileage at 25 Cents a Mile, Capped

  Oregon pays mileage reimbursement at 25 cents a mile for travel from a place within or outside the state, dropping to eight cents a mile in public-body proceedings. Total mileage reimbursement shall not exceed the necessary cost of transportation on reasonably available common carriers (ORS 44.415).

• Appearance Is Contingent on Payment

  Unless the witness expressly declines payment, the obligation to appear is contingent on payment of fees and mileage when the subpoena is served. At the end of each day attendance the witness may demand payment for the next day, and if it is not paid on demand the witness is not obligated to return (ORCP 55 A(6)(b)).

• Four Ways an Oregon Subpoena Can Issue

  An attorney of record may issue one for that party witness. The clerk may issue a blank one to a party on request, subject to a deposition-notice condition for deposition subpoenas. A judge or justice may issue where there is no clerk, and a presiding officer may issue for an administrative or out-of-court proceeding (ORCP 55 A(3)).

• Mandatory Fine-or-Jail Warning on the Face

  Oregon prescribes no numbered statewide form, but ORCP 55 A(1)(a) requires the document to alert the recipient to the fee and mileage entitlement and to state in substantively similar terms that all subpoenas must be obeyed unless a judge orders otherwise and that disobedience of a subpoena is punishable by a fine or jail time.

• Production: 7 Days to Parties, 14 Days to Comply

  A subpoena issued solely to command production or inspection must be served on all parties not in default at least 7 days before it is served on the person producing, and must allow at least 14 days for production, unless the court orders less time. It must also specify whether originals or true copies will satisfy it (ORCP 55 C(3)).

• Health Records: 14-Day Notice and Double Sealing

  For confidential health information the party must serve the custodian with a qualified protective order or a declaration showing written notice to the patient allowing 14 days to object, and a copy of the subpoena must reach the patient and all non-defaulting parties not less than 14 days before the custodian is served. Records travel in an inscribed inner sealed envelope inside a sealed outer envelope (ORCP 55 D).

• Contempt, Stricken Pleadings, and a 14-Day Quash Window

  Disobedience or a refusal to be sworn or to answer may be punished as contempt by the court or by the judge who issued the subpoena, and a party witness who disobeys at a hearing or trial can have its complaint, answer, or other pleading stricken (ORCP 55 A(6)(d)). A motion to quash or modify must be filed before the appearance date and not more than 14 days after service (ORCP 55 A(7)).