Legal researcher. Legal writer. Attorney-at-law.
Don’t let state lines inhibit your discovery process in state-court litigation. You simply need to know where to start.
Do you want to obtain evidence or testimony in Georgia? Read this article: Best Practices for Issuing Subpoenas: Depositions of Georgia Residents in Cases Pending Out of State. I have also put together an Out-of-State Subpoena Toolkit with my resources on the Georgia procedure.
Need evidence or testimony elsewhere? My recently published article identifying the citations for each state is available on the Georgia Bar Journal website in Vol. 17, No. 2. Read Obtaining Out-of-State Evidence for State Court Civil Litigation: Where to Start?
Here are my four practice pointers:
And below are all posts on out-of-state subpoenas.
I’ve written before about a Georgia advisory opinion that addresses the misuse of subpoenas and requires attorneys to either notice or jointly schedule a deposition before having a subpoena issued. The advisory opinion is treated as persuasive authority, and it has now been cited in a trial-court opinion discussing discovery abuses. Trial court ruled that [...]
There is no procedure to compel a Georgia witness to travel for a civil trial outside the state. Subpoenas are powerful documents, but their power is limited. If you have a civil case outside Georgia and you want a Georgia witness to testify live at that trial, there is only one viable option: Secure the [...]
In Georgia, the answer is no—even though substituted service can be good service for a complaint. Service of a complaint and service of subpoenas are governed by different rules. Don’t get them mixed up! When you need to subpoena an individual, the only ways to serve that individual are outlined in O.C.G.A. § 24-10-23. If [...]
Last night I spoke to the Atlanta chapter of the NALS on out-of-state subpoenas. I was honored to be asked to speak and enjoyed the group. Below is the presentation.
With all the different procedures outlined in my recent article for obtaining evidence outside Georgia, and with the procedures varying by the over 3,000 counties and parishes in the U.S.*, the temptation is there. You, as the Georgia attorney, are thinking: Can’t I just serve the Georgia subpoena and see what happens? Maybe I’ll get [...]
I’ve previously covered how to obtain documents and testimony in Georgia for an out-of-state case (see my articles and posts listed on my Out-of-State Subpoena Toolkit page). But what about other states? There is now a listing of the current statutes and rules governing the process for all fifty states, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. [...]
Update 1/31/2012: As expected, the Senate has passed HB 46 with the reciprocity provision. The amended legislation is now available on the General Assembly’s website. ******************************************************************* In a week, several pieces of legislation in Georgia will become effective, but the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act will not be one of them. It was introduced [...]
Arbitration governed by state arbitration statutes In Georgia, there must be a “mandate, writ, or commission” issued “out of any court of record in any other state” in order to permit the clerk to issue a subpoena for an out-of-state matter. O.C.G.A. § 24-10-111. So if you are involved in an arbitration matter elsewhere, an [...]
