Rhode Island Subpoena
Rhode Island still prints the subpoena wording in its statute, lets a notary public issue one, and makes attendance conditional on fees being tendered first. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Rhode Island is the state that still writes the subpoena's words into the statute book. Section 9-17-1 of the General Laws sets out the form the document shall be substantially in, commanding the witness in the name of the state of Rhode Island to appear and give evidence, and closing with a line no modern drafter would write: Hereof fail not, as you will answer your default under the penalty of the law in that behalf made and provided. The General Assembly amended that section as recently as June 2021, so it is live law rather than a museum piece. Two other Rhode Island choices matter more in practice. First, the list of people who can issue a subpoena is wide: clerks of court and judges of the district court under Section 9-17-2, and then auditors, referees, masters in chancery, commissioners, justices of the peace and notaries public under Section 9-17-3. Second, money comes before obligation. Section 9-17-5 says a witness is obliged to attend only once duly served and once the lawful fees have been tendered for travel from the witness's place of abode to the place of attendance, plus one day's attendance. Those fees are modest: Section 9-29-7 pays $10.00 for every day's attendance before the supreme or superior court or any other tribunal or magistrate, counting attendance at a deposition, plus 10 cents for every mile travelled. DocDraft drafts the Rhode Island subpoena on that statutory form, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Rhode Island subpoena is a command, issued in the name of the state of Rhode Island, requiring a witness to appear before a named court or tribunal on a stated day and give evidence of what the witness knows about the action between the named plaintiff and defendant (Section 9-17-1).
- 2
The Rhode Island witness fee is $10.00 for every day's attendance before the supreme or superior court, or before any other tribunal or magistrate, and the statute counts attendance in giving depositions (Section 9-29-7(a)(1)).
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Rhode Island mileage is 10 cents for every mile's travel under the same fee schedule, and the schedule also allows $2.00 for every day's commitment in jail upon default to enter into recognizance with surety (Section 9-29-7(a)).
- 4
A Rhode Island witness is obliged to attend only after being duly served and having the lawful fees tendered for travel from the place of abode to the place of attendance, plus one day's attendance (Section 9-17-5).
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Clerks of court and judges of the district court may issue a Rhode Island subpoena in all cases pending in their own or any other court, and auditors, referees, masters in chancery, commissioners, justices of the peace and notaries public may also issue them (Sections 9-17-2 and 9-17-3).
- 6
A witness who does not appear according to the tenor of a Rhode Island subpoena, without reasonable excuse, is liable to an action by the aggrieved party for all damages sustained in consequence of the default (Section 9-17-11).
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Before collecting any fee beyond the amount that had to be tendered up front, a Rhode Island witness must give the court a certificate stating the number of days attended and the number of miles travelled (Section 9-17-18).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Subpoena in Rhode Island, 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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Rhode Island Requirements for Subpoena
Witness Fee of $10.00 a Day
The fee is $10.00 for every day attendance before the supreme or superior court, or before any other tribunal or magistrate, and the schedule counts attendance in giving depositions (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 9-29-7(a)(1)). The same schedule allows $2.00 for every day commitment in jail upon default to enter into recognizance with surety.
Mileage at 10 Cents for Every Mile Travelled
Section 9-29-7(a)(2) sets the travel allowance at 10 cents for every mile travelled. The schedule prints the figure without a dollar sign, and Section 9-17-5 frames the tender as covering travel from the witness place of abode to the place of attendance, so compute the trip the statute describes.
Tender the Fees or Attendance Is Not Owed
A witness duly served and having lawful fees tendered for travel from the place of abode to the place of attendance, and for one day attendance, shall be obliged to attend accordingly (Section 9-17-5). Section 9-17-6 excuses the tender for a witness summoned on behalf of the state, or for an indigent criminal defendant.
Even a Notary Public Can Issue One
Clerks of court and judges of the district court may issue subpoenas in all cases pending in their own or any other court (Section 9-17-2). Auditors, referees, masters in chancery and commissioners may issue in matters before them, and justices of the peace and notaries public may issue in any case, civil or criminal, before any court (Section 9-17-3).
The Statutory Form and Hereof Fail Not
Section 9-17-1 prints the wording a Rhode Island subpoena shall be substantially in, requiring appearance in the name of the state of Rhode Island to give evidence of what the witness knows, and closing Hereof fail not, as you will answer your default under the penalty of the law. Amended by P.L. 2021, ch. 77 and ch. 78, effective June 23, 2021.
Certified Copies in Lieu of Appearance
Where the subpoena hits a federal or state agency, public utility, national bank, insurance company, financial institution, or institution of higher education, the custodian may respond by promptly sending the requesting attorney copies plus a certificate signed before a notary public carrying the legend Section 9-17-5.1 prescribes, in lieu of personal appearance.
Days-and-Miles Certificate Before Further Payment
Every witness, before obtaining any fee other than the amount that had to be tendered in advance, must give the court a certificate stating the number of days attended and the number of miles travelled, subject to the court examination, and the court makes whatever allowance is lawfully due (Section 9-17-18).
Attachment Plus Open-Ended Damages
The court may compel attendance by attachment (Section 9-17-7), and a witness who does not appear according to the tenor of the subpoena without reasonable excuse is liable to an action by the aggrieved party for all damages sustained in consequence of the default (Section 9-17-11). No fixed statutory forfeiture figure is attached, so the measure is the damage actually proved.