                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SUBPOENA; ATTORNEY-ISSUED SUBPOENA (§ 16.1-265)

Upon application of a party and pursuant to the Rules of Supreme Court of
Virginia for the issuance of subpoenas, the clerk of the court shall issue, and
the court on its own motion may issue, subpoenas requiring attendance and
testimony of witnesses and production of records, documents, or other tangible
objects at any hearing.
		Subpoenas duces tecum for medical records shall be subject to the provisions
of §§ 8.01-413 and 32.1-127.1:03 except that no separate fee shall be imposed.
A subpoena may also be issued in a civil proceeding by an attorney-at-law who is
an active member of the Virginia State Bar at the time of issuance, as an
officer of the court. Any such subpoena shall be on a form approved by the
Committee on District Courts, signed by the attorney as if a pleading, and shall
include the attorney&#8217;s address. A copy, together with the attorney&#8217;s
certificate of service pursuant to Rule 1:12, shall be mailed or delivered to
the clerk&#8217;s office of the court in which the case is pending on the day of
issuance by the attorney. The law governing subpoenas issued by a clerk shall
apply mutatis mutandis, except that attorneys may not issue subpoenas in those
cases in which they may not issue a summons as provided in § 8.01-407. When an
attorney-at-law transmits one or more subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum to a
sheriff to be served in his jurisdiction, the provisions in § 8.01-407
regarding such transmittals shall apply. A sheriff shall not be required to
serve an attorney-issued subpoena that is not issued at least five business days
prior to the date production of evidence is required.
		If the time for compliance with a subpoena issued by an attorney is less than
14 days after service of the subpoena, the person to whom it is directed may
serve upon the party issuing the subpoena a written objection setting forth any
grounds therefor. If objection is made, the party on whose behalf the subpoena
was issued and served shall not be entitled to compliance, except pursuant to an
order of the court, but may, upon notice to the person to whom the subpoena was
directed, move for an order to compel compliance. Upon such timely motion, the
court may quash, modify, or sustain the subpoena. The release of a person to
whom an attorney-issued subpoena is directed shall be governed by the provisions
of § 8.01-407.

HISTORY: 1977, c. 559; 2000, c. 813; 2004, c. 335; 2023, c. 92.