Subpoenas
Does a subpoena have to be handed directly to the person being served? And can a person be forced to testify? Can a police officer threaten to arrest someone if they refuse to take a sbpoena?
Attorney answers (3)
Process of service has to be done personally. Sometimes, it would be more accurate to say that process is effectuated by methods other than handing the papers directly to the person. For example, if the person to be served won't stick out their hand and take the papers, the process server can drop the papers on the ground at the person's feet. I have also read of service being upheld when the papers were thrown into a car where the person was sitting.
It is not proper to leave process on the doorstep when nobody will answer the door, or to push the papers under the door of a residence. It may not be proper to serve another resident of a household. If the penalty for not complying with the process is jail, then personal service seems to be demanded, not just abode service.
A person can be "forced" to appear before a court. The court can require the person properly subpoenaed to take the stand and testify. What comes out of the witness's mouth is supposed to be the truth. If the person properly subpoenaed to appear fails to appear, a bench warrant can be issued for that person's arrest and they can be jailed for contempt of court.
If you have any questions about what is happening, this would be a very good time to have a consult with a criminal defense attorney.
Police officers probably don't benefit from threats of what they are going to do, because they have the power to detain an individual if they believe the individual is violating a statute, law or rule. But I can imagine situations where an officer might think that an uttered threat to arrest someone might gain that person's compliance.
Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell
4 people marked this answer as good
I agree with some of what Elizabeth says, but want to add some additional information. Process of service doesn't have to be done personally if the judge allows service to be done in a manner other than personal service. For example, when someone is evading service, an attorney might decide to ask the judge to allow papers to be served by serving someone at the home who is over 16 years old or by posting the papers on the front door of the home. Furthermore, should service prove difficult because the address of the person is unknown, a judge may allow service by publication, which allows a notice to be published in a local newspaper under certain rules. Assuming the publication rules are followed, then the suit may proceed without the defendant never having known of the lawsuit.
As for being forced to testify, one can be forced to appear in court, but you don't have to answer the questions asked if the answers will incriminate you. That's where the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution comes in. If you are simply a witness to an event or crime where you are not personally on the hook for any criminal charges, then yes, you will have to testify.
Finally, for the police officer, an officer cannot arrest someone for simply refusing to take a subpoena. The power to arrest is different, however, than the power to threaten. It wouldn't make sense for a police officer to make such a threat, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of police officers making such threats.
Hope this helps! Please note that you should seek a Washington State lawyer to find out how the laws and procedural rules of Washington specifically affect this situation.
1 person marked this answer as good
Bruce David Abel
Reputation Level 10
Answered almost 4 years ago.
Litigation Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA.
If you are asking specifically about Washington law, you should seek the advice of a licensed attorney in Washington. If, however, you are asking a question in general and not about Washington law, the answer is "Yes". A subpoena is a court order and must be personally served upon the person being subpoenaed. Once properly served, if a person wilfully disobeys the court order to appear and testify, a bench warrant may issue to attach the body of the person under subpoena. If a person is before the court, he can be compelled to testify withing constitutional boundaries. In a criminal case, a defendant is not required and cannot be compelled to testify. In a civil case, a person may assert the 5th Amendment Privilege not to incriminate himself or herself, assuming the civil matter is also a crime. An example of the overlap is that taking another's property can be actionable as conversion and prosecutable as theft.
It would be unnecessary for a police officer to threaten someone if that person refused to take the subpoena. Most jurisdictions would deemed the person served even if the person refused to take the subpoena if the process server indicated he or she was serving legal papers and the nature of the papers. The subpoena then could just be left at the person's feet or, say for example, the person was in a car, the subpoena could be thrown through the window.
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