08/21/2006
Can a Third Party Subpoena the Feds?
D.C. Circuit concludes that an agency is a 'person' under Rule 45.
Does a civil litigant in federal court have the power to subpoena government documents if the government is not a party?
This may seem to be a basic question, but its answer has been surprisingly elusive and may depend on which federal court issued the subpoena. A civil litigant, for example, may be able to compel documents from agencies located in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, but not from those located in the 4th Circuit.
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