Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 3 01/12 (REV 1/04)
Court Liaison Officer / Criminal Subpoena Service
The purpose of this order is to establish specific procedures w ithin Field Services for
criminal subpoena service by the Court Liaison Officer. I. General
The Court Liaison Officer is a r ecords officer responsible to t he Administrative
Lieutenant for Field Services.
II. Service of Criminal Subpoenas
A. The Court Liaison Officer shall receive criminal subpoenas i ssued by
Sacramento County Courts for me mbers of this department and del iver
them to Court Liaison. Court Liais on then disperses them to the proper
divisions. Upon service of such a subpoena, the original copy shall be
retained by the receiving divi sion for pickup and return to the court by the
Liaison Officer.
B. The Legal Liaison officer sha ll receive out-of-county crimin al subpoenas
for members of this department and deliver them to the proper d ivisions.
C. Out-of-county criminal subpoenas issued for members of this department
go first to the custodian of recor ds who disperses them to the proper
divisions. All criminal subpoenas will be stamped by the court liaison
officer or legal affairs as follows:
Served By _____________ Date _____________ Received By _____________ Date _____________
III. Field Services Procedures
A. The Court Liaison Officer sha ll deliver all Sacramento Count y criminal
subpoenas to the proper Field Servi ces Division Secretary. The secretary
shall log each subpoena into t he subpoena book no later than 17 00 hours
the same day that they were re ceived, recording the date and ti me of the
court appearance, the officer under subpoena, and the defendant .
Field Services Page 2 of 3 01/12 (REV 1/04) B. The Field Services Division Secretary will di stribute the un served
subpoenas in accordance with the procedures established by the
respective division commander.
C. Sergeants and lieut enants will be charged wit h the responsib ility of
checking the subpoena box each day and serving the subpoenas to those
officers present in briefing . Any personnel serving a subpoena will fill out
the stamped box on one of the s ubpoenas with the correct inform ation,
and then place the serviced copy in the proper tray in the Fiel d Services
Division office.
D. The Field Services Division Se cretary shall retrieve the ser viced copy and
record the date of service and t he serving officer in the subpo ena book,
and then return the subpoena to the Court Liaison Officer or Le gal Affairs.
E. Subpoenas shall be served in a timely manner. If service ca nnot be
made, return the subpoena to the Div ision Secretary as soon as practical
with the reason for non-service . The secretary shall record th e non-
service in the subpoena book and then forward the subpoena to L egal
Affairs or the Court Liaison Office r, who shall promptly notify the deputy
district attorney of record.
IV. Cancellation/Reset
A. Subpoena cancellation or res et will be handled per General O rder 8/03. In
addition, the cancellation/re set form will be stamped by the Co urt Liaison
Officer in the same manner as subpoenas and delivered to the ap propriate
Field Services Division secretary.
1. Cancellation: Upon receipt from Legal Affairs or Court Liai son, the
Division Secretary shall put the cancellation notice in the off icer’s
on-site mailbox.
2. Reset: All reset notices rec eived from Legal Affairs or Cou rt
Liaison shall be served in a timely manner. If service cannot b e
made, the notice shall be retur ned to the Division Secretary wi th the
reason for non-service. The secret ary shall then forward the n otice
to Legal Affairs or the Court Liaison Officer.
V. Absence Requests
Each Division Commander should tr ansmit current information reg arding shift
details, duty assignments, hom e address, telephone number, sche duled
vacations, training schools, and other approved absences to the Court Liaison
Officer.
Field Services Page 3 of 3 01/12 (REV 1/04) VI. Reporting in on court date
A. If the subpoena is for an appearanc e at a downtown court, th e officer shall
first report to the Court Liaison Officer, who shall stamp and initial the
subpoena with the time and date of the check in.
B. If the subpoena is for an appearanc e at a court outside of t he downtown
area, the officer shall report to the court receptionist or dis trict attorney
handling the case, who shall in itial the subpoena with the time and date of
the check in.
VII. Overtime
A. Upon completion of a court appear ance that results in overti me
compensation, officers will fill out an overtime form, attach t he form to the
properly initialed subpoena, and s ubmit the form through the no rmal
channels.
B. Any overtime for court appear ance should be entered on the o fficer's time
sheet during the pay peri od in which it was earned.
C. Overtime procedures for com pensation will comply with Genera l Order
8/03.