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>"In most instances, a subpoena can be issued and signed by an attorney on behalf of a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice law. If the subpoen
by Merrill 7y ago
>"In most instances, a subpoena can be issued and signed by an attorney on behalf of a court in which the attorney is authorized to practice law. If the subpoena is for a high-level government official (such as the Governor, or agency head), then it must be signed by an administrative law judge. In some cases, a non-lawyer may issue a subpoena if acting on his or her own behalf (known as pro se representation)."
https://litigation.findlaw.com/going-to-court/what-is-a-subpoena.html https://litigation.findlaw.com/going-to-court/what-is-a-subp...
A judge's approval is not needed. The attorney (e.g. a prosecuting attorney) is the "court officer".
- hammock 7y agoYou missed the point. Your citation refers to a traditional subpoena, which I was saying is distinct from these "subpoenas." NSLs are not issued by prosecuting attorneys.
- Merrill 7y ago>However, the most commonly used type of NSL can be issued directly by the FBI Director, an Assistant Director, and also by all FBI Special Agents in Charge, who are commanding officers stationed across the country at FBI field offices. https://www.eff.org/issues/national-security-letters/faq#3 https://www.eff.org/issues/national-security-letters/faq#3 Most of these, and certainly the Director, are also attorneys. At least James Comey was. Plus they have FBI staff attorneys to consult with. Practically speaking, how does this differ from the local prosecutor issuing a subpoena? The local country prosecutor is essentially part of law enforcement and reports up to the AG in the executive branch of government. The local county prosecutor has dozens of detectives working for her.