Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

If a detective needs a subpoena for phone records, who would he contact for this? If it's the judge or magistrate, would it be their clerk? Or would it go to the d.a. and his clerk?

Here, we contact a deputy DA. They issue a grand jury subpoena. All clerks do is type it up.

Here, we contact a deputy DA. They issue a grand jury subpoena. All clerks do is type it up.

would this apply to subpoena for phone records as well?

A subpoena is a subpoena. Be aware that some agencies have Administrative Subpoena powers and they can write their own up and submit them straight to the phone companies.

We do it both ways here. If it's for more minor cases, we will write them up ourselves and take them directly to the judge to sign. In more serious cases we will involve the county attorney or general attorney's office to take care of it.

If you were to call the judge, would it be to his direct line or would it be his clerk or secretary that answers? Have any of you had a time where you couldn't reach the judge because he was out of his office say on vacation?

We can call state judges direct... even "after-hours"... well, for the ones that we have a rapport with, of course. For the federal judges, we usually call their office and get their clerk.

In Connecticut, if I want phone or Internet records I draft an ex-parte order and present it to a judge to sign. If it was after hours I would wait until the the next business day when the judge was in chambers, unless it was an emergency.

However, if it was a true emergency I would be able to get info from the phone company immediately and give them a signed order later, so there would still be no real reason to wake up a judge.

I have woken up judges for search warrants before, but never for an ex-parte order for phone or Internet records.

Here, the subpoena for phone records would be a GJ subpoena. The DA can sign it and getting judge involved isn't necessary.

When phone companies were more local, we could get the info and send them a subpoena later, but with all the mergers that's more difficult. I think they've probably been burned a few times where once the officer got the info, he didn't follow up with the paperwork.

When I started, Pacific NW Bell, the local phone company was one block from the police station. Now it's Quest and in Denver as far as I know. The outlying phone company was GTE, then it was Verizon and now it's Frontier. They're back East somewhere.

For the federal judges, we usually call their office and get their clerk.

And bring gifts of gold and incense???

And bring gifts of gold and incense???

LOL

I don't know... most of the Magistrates that I have dealt with were GREAT. Then again, having taken them shooting and being one of the guys that protected them when the SHTF, they tend to like us. :D

In Florida, I contact the State Attorney's Office and request a Subpoena. They write it up and it is then served upon the entity and they have 10 days to supply records, or contest the subpoena in court. Judge is not involved in the process unless it's contested in court.

In an emergency for phone records, we fill out a form and send it to the phone companies advising them of the emergency, reason for the request, and what we need. Most comply, some don't. If information is provided, be prepared to defend the "emergency" in court.

For subpeonas we write them ourselves and either an ASAC , DSAC or the SAC signs off. No magistrates or district judges needed or involved.

We would write it up ourselves, then go to the courthouse during business hours, or call the on call judge after hours. Depends on which judge is on call, we can either fax the warrant to his house, and he'll fax the signed one back, or for the certain few judges who would rather their signature be original on the subpoena, we drive it to their house.

Thank you everyone for crystallizing what was an abstract process.