In Larimer, Grand, and Boulder County Court, the defense and the prosecution can use a document called a subpoena to get witnesses, experts, and victims to appear in court and testify. This is a vital part of any motions hearing or trial – bringing the right people in to present information that can help your case. Let’s look at the two types of subpoenas and the pros and cons of each.
Subpoenas: A Vital Tool for any Fort Collins Lawyer
The first type of subpoena a person can be served with is just a normal subpoena. While it may seems easy to prepare a document that requires a person to appear in court at a certain time on a certain date, locating the person can present a road block – and it is the defendant’s responsibility to find the person and have them served. Sometimes a person from the defendant’s past may be able to provide important information, but they have since moved. It can be difficult and take time and money to locate this person, but if they can provide solid support to your case, it may be worth it. Another issue related to serving a normal subpoena is that people are not predictable. Having anyone take the stand to testify can be risky. The answers to the questions asked by both the defense and the prosecution may end up helping the prosecution more. If you serve someone and they are unhappy about having to appear in court, their attitude may affect their answers and hurt your case as well.
Subpoena Duces Tecum: How to Get Evidence and Documents to Trial
While the normal subpoena only addresses getting a witness to court to testify, the Subpoena Duces Tecum can not only get a person to appear in court, it can also require they bring evidence or documents they have in their control. For example, if the prosecution is arguing that you hurt someone and you know the EMTs on scene medically cleared the ‘victim’, it may be very useful to present these ambulance records during trial. However, getting these records is not an easy task. This is where the Subpoena Duces Tecum comes in handy. You can serve the ambulance company with a subpoena to provide all the records related to this case and ‘victim.’ The Subpoena Duces Tecum can require an agent appear on the date with the medical records, or can allow the company until a certain date to provide them and if they do, then they are not required to appear in court. Either way, the Subpoena Duces Tecum gives the defense the ability to force people to present vital documents and evidence.
Tips for Serving Subpoenas in Fort Collins and Loveland Criminal Cases
First of all, it is always in your best interest to get a witness to voluntarily agree to appear. Then you can serve the subpoena with a waiver of service, meaning the person agreed without being formally served. This keeps your witness happy because then they don’t feel like they are being forced, but instead volunteering to help. Secondly, keep in mind that even a witness on your side can damage your case and help the prosecution. People are unpredictable. You may have prepared a witness for testifying, only to have them answer completely different while on the stand. Many times, it’s about taking sides in a criminal case. Sometimes witnesses don’t choose the side you hoped they would. Sometimes they lie. During prep, you have to evaluate their answers and objectively decide if what they have to say can cause more harm than good. Don’t serve a witness until you have spoken with them.
Expenses Related to Serving Subpoenas in Larimer County
Trials can be expensive and the seemingly small costs can really add up. One of those costs can be serving subpoenas. In following procedures, should you need to serve any type of subpoena, you must have a process server carry out the service. This can cost anywhere from $40 to $100 and that’s just for one subpoena. The varying price depends on how far the process server must travel to serve the subpoena, how many attempts they must use before successfully serving it, and how quickly you need to subpoena served. Often, you can get the person to court or the necessary documents without serving the subpoena, so make sure you consider all the pros and cons before serving one.