Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

subpoenas

does a subpoena have to be directly delivered to the actual person named on it? if not, and the subpoena is delvered to an address where the person no longer resides, how is he/she held responsible for not attending court?


Asked on 2/24/08, 8:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Richard Cline Office of the Ohio Public Defender

Re: subpoenas

This is a tough question. My best answer is, if the person to whom the subpoena is issued actually had knowledge of it, he or she is required to respond to the subpoena. The difficulty is in proving whether that person actually had knowledge of the subpoena. If it is hand-delivered and the person signs for the subpoena, there is no question. If it is left at the person's residence, that is acceptable. If the witness no longer lives at the address but the subpoena is delivered there anyway, the issue becomes whether the party seeking to enforce the subpoena can demonstrate that the witness had actual knowledge of it, even though it was served to the wrong address.

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Answered on 2/25/08, 10:18 am


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