Boca Raton Police Services Department Subpoenas and Court Appearances PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operation Procedure 74.05 SUBPOENAS AND COURT APPEARANCES Revised: March 31, 2023 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide policy and procedures regarding court appearances and the receipt and routing of summons, subpoe...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operation Procedure 74.05 SUBPOENAS AND COURT APPEARANCES Revised: March 31, 2023 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide policy and procedures regarding court appearances and the receipt and routing of summons, subpoenas, or written notices of deposition. II. PROCEDURE: A. RECEIPT OF SUBPOENAS, SUMMONS OR WRITTEN NOTICE OF DEPOSITION IN CRIMINAL CASES: 1. In accordance with F.s.s. 48.031, service of a criminal witness subpoena or summons upon a law enforcement officer (LEO) called to testify in an official capacity in a criminal case may be made by delivery of such process to the designated administrative employee at the officer’s place of employment. 2. Criminal court process (subpoenas and summons) are received electronically via email at [email protected]. a. The designated administrative employee shall be responsible for checking this email account daily and forwarding subpoenas and summons to the appropriate division/bureau administrative assistant/secretary as needed. i. The designated administrative employee’s supervisor shall be responsible for checking this email account in the employee’s absence and ensuring the timely issuance of subpoenas and summons. b. If a subpoena or summons is received electronically via another email account (such as by Records), and it was not also sent to [email protected], the receiving employee shall forward the subpoena or summons to [email protected]. 3. Subpoenas or summons are received by the Records Section in paper format. The receiving Records Section employee shall: a. Forward accepted subpoenas and summons to the appropriate administrative assistant/secretary. 4. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: March 31, 2023 Criminal subpoenas or summons shall be refused for the following reasons: Subpoenas and Court Appearances SOP No. 74.05 Page 1 of 5 a. The employee is no longer employed by the Department. b. The employee is not scheduled to work prior to the date of appearance indicated on the summons. c. The appearance date is less than five (5) days from the date of service (date of receipt of the summons.) d. In computing the five (5) day limit, the day of receipt is not counted. i. Intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are not counted. (Ref: Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.514) ii. If the date of appearance falls on a date that an employee is scheduled for authorized leave, and the employee is scheduled to work prior to that date, the subpoena must be accepted. 5. When received in paper format, the subpoena or summons shall be time/date stamped on the back if accepted. 6. When a subpoena or summons is received with confirmation requests or multiple copies, each copy shall be time/date stamped. The confirmation requests shall be placed in the bin to be returned to State Attorney's Office by the court liaison. 7. The subpoena or summons shall then be forwarded to the appropriate divisional administrative employee for electronic issuance to the named employee. 8. Upon receipt, the division/bureau administrative assistant/secretary shall: a. Verify employment status and officer availability. i. If the subpoena or summons is being refused, the division/bureau administrative assistant/secretary shall advise the Office of the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Court as soon as possible. ii. Subpoenas for former employees will be mailed back to the originating Assistant State Attorney with a letter from the division/bureau administrative assistant/secretary stating, "no longer employed." 9. If the subpoena or summons is accepted, the division/bureau administrative assistant/secretary shall: a. Scan the subpoena or summons if it wasn’t received electronically. b. Enter the subpoena or summons into the designated electronic Subpoena Entry Form. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: March 31, 2023 Subpoenas and Court Appearances SOP No. 74.05 Page 2 of 5 10. Upon the subpoena or summons being entered into the designated Subpoena Entry Form, the receiving employee will receive an email notification. a. The receiving employee shall click the link in the email and electronically sign for the subpoena or summons. b. After electronically signing, the receiving employee will receive a second email with a copy of the subpoena or summons attached. B. RECEIPT OF SUBPOENAS, SUMMONS OR WRITTEN NOTICE OF DEPOSITION IN CIVIL CASES: 1. In accordance with F.s.s. 48.031(1)(a) and Florida Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 1.070, service of civil subpoenas or summons must be made on the person named on the subpoena or summons by someone authorized by law to serve such process. Consequently, the agency cannot accept civil subpoenas or summons on behalf of any employee. 2. Process servers must contact the employee directly in order to facilitate the service of civil subpoenas or summons. In accordance with F.s.s. 48.031(1)(b) an employer, when contacted by an individual authorized to serve subpoenas or summons shall allow the authorized individual to serve an employee in a private area designated by the employer. 3. When any employee is served with a summons and complaint in any civil litigation arising out of the performance of the employee’s job, the employee shall notify his/her supervisor and provide copies of any subpoena or summons received. Supervisors shall ensure that the subpoena or summons is forwarded to the Office of the City Attorney through his/her chain-of-command. 4. With the exception of a lawsuit filed by the employee, employees who are summoned to testify in a lawsuit against the City of Boca Raton shall immediately notify his/her supervisor who will forward the information to the Office of the City Attorney through his/her chain-of-command. C. COURT APPEARANCE/EXCUSAL: 1. Employees shall respond to subpoenas or summons requesting his/her appearance in court and for the taking of depositions in matters arising out of Department employment. a. Employees subpoenaed to appear in court are required to attend. b. It shall be the responsibility of the employee to make arrangements to change the date of appearance, as needed. c. If the employee will be on vacation or out of the area, the appropriate court office shall be notified in writing within five (5) working days prior to scheduled leave. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: March 31, 2023 Subpoenas and Court Appearances SOP No. 74.05 Page 3 of 5 i. Writing a letter does not automatically excuse the employee from his/her appearances. ii. The appropriate court office or attorney must grant the request, and the name of the individual granting the excusal must be noted. Proof of an excusal shall be retained by the employee and presented upon the request of a supervisor. 2. If an employee is sick, he/she shall notify the appropriate court office and his/her duty supervisor. 3. If the employee is attending school in either Broward or Palm Beach County, he/she shall request to be excused from class to attend court. The subpoena or summons will be shown to the instructor at the time of the request. 4. All employees testifying in court or at depositions shall completely familiarize themselves with all aspects of the case in which they were involved before his/her appearance, and shall be fully prepared to give accurate, complete, and truthful testimony. D. APPEARANCE CANCELLATIONS 1. Cancellations for appearances pursuant to a subpoena or summons should be received electronically via email at [email protected]. a. Any appearance cancellation notifications received by other means shall be forwarded (scanned first if necessary) to [email protected]. 2. Upon receiving an appearance cancellation notification, the Road Patrol office assistant responsible for monitoring the [email protected] mailbox shall either enter the cancellation themselves or forward the appearance cancellation notification to the appropriate administrative assistant/secretary. 3. The Road Patrol office assistant or other appropriate administrative assistant/secretary shall enter the cancellation in the designated electronic Subpoena Entry Form, marking “Cancellation”. 4. Upon the appearance cancellation being entered into the designated Subpoena Entry Form, the receiving employee will receive an email notification. a. The receiving employee shall click the link in the email and electronically sign for the appearance cancellation notification. b. After electronically signing, the receiving employee will receive a second email with a copy of the appearance cancellation notification. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: March 31, 2023 Subpoenas and Court Appearances SOP No. 74.05 Page 4 of 5 E. MISSED COURT APPEARANCE: 1. Supervisors will be supplied with a monthly list of employees who did not attend court. The following procedure shall be adhered to: a. The supervisor shall document on the electronic Missed Court Appearance Form the LEO’s name, court date, and reason for absence. b. The supervisor shall consider discipline in any instance that is not considered an authorized absence from court. c. During monthly inspections, the watch commander or section commander shall conduct an audit to ensure each absence has been entered into the electronic Missed Court Appearance Form and properly classified. d. Division, bureau and/or district commanders shall perform periodic spot checks to ensure compliance with these requirements. F. WITNESS FEES AND MILEAGE: 1. All employees may receive overtime pay if off duty or the standard witness fee paid by the clerk, but not both. 2. Employees may receive a mileage fee paid either by the court if the employee uses his/her personal vehicle for court appearances, but no payment may be claimed if transportation is provided by the City. When available, authorized employees shall use a City vehicle for transportation to and from depositions and court appearances. 3. The Agreement between the City of Boca Raton and the FOP Lodge 35 governs the acceptance of other witness fees by bargaining unit members. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: March 31, 2023 Subpoenas and Court Appearances SOP No. 74.05 Page 5 of 5