Policy Text
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 240.01
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240.01
COURT APPEARANCE
11/13/12
PURPOSE
The purpose of this order is to define and outline procedures for documenting court appearances and the
processing of compensation documents.
POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Sacramento Police Department that employees honor "Notices to Appear" in the
same manner as a criminal subpoena issued under the authority of the California Penal Code.
PROCEDURE
A. DEFINITIONS
1. SUBPOENA - The process by which the attendance of a witness is required before a court or
magistrate. Hereafter, when the word "Subpoena" appears in this order, it will signify "Notice to
Appear," "Request to Appear," and "Subpoena - Request."
2. IN-LIEU-OF TIME - Time taken instead of court overtime pay.
B. GENERAL
1. Failure to obey a subpoena may result in the court or magistrate taking punitive action in addition
to Departmental disciplinary action.
2. Employees shall be prompt in attendance and remain until excused by competent authority.
3. Employees shall have a copy of the report with them and be familiar with the portion of the case
they are involved in.
4. Employees shall avoid indicati ons of bias, prejudice or anger.
5. Employees shall honor all "Notices to Appear" and criminal subpoenas, including subpoenas from
outside agencies.
6. Employees may only be excused from a mandat ed appearance by a judge or officer of the court
who issued the subpoena.
7. Each subpoena shall be validated before being submitted for court overtime payment. 8. The disposition of validated subpoenas is specified in General Order 252.01 (Military Leaves of
Absence).
9. All subpoenas shall be received by the CL U before being issued to employees with at
least five (5) days notice. Subpoenas may be served to employees personally, electronically or by
telephone.
10. Employees receiving email notification of an existing subpoena or change to a subpoena during
work hours shall immediately log into the Subpoena Tracker web site and acknowledge service.
11. Employees receiving email notification of an existing subpoena or change to a subpoena during
non-working hours shall log into the Subpoena Tracker web site during the first shift after they receive such notification and acknowledge service.
12. Service is automatically accepted when the em ployee logs on to the Subpoena Tracker web site.
13. For purposes of this order, an officer is considered “served” when the Subpoena Tracker web site
is logged into remotely and that information is retrievable.
C. COURT ATTIRE
1. Employees attending court shall present an offi cial duty image either by appearing in uniform or
present a neat, clean and professional appearance.
2. Employees on duty and in uniform shall appear in court in the uniform of the day unless otherwise
directed by the Chief of Police or the magistrate.
3. Employees shall only appear in court in uniform when the proceedings are official police business.
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 240.01
Page 2 of 6
4. Employees appearing in plain clothes shall present a neat, clean and professional appearance.
a. Males shall wear a suit or sport coat with a dress shirt, tie and slacks.
b. Female employees shall wear proper business attire. c. Deviations shall only occur when employees are not given advance notifications during the
subpoena process.
d. If ordered by court staff, the officer shall remove their firearm and secure it in a safe place.
D. SUBPOENA PROCEDURES
1. The CLU shall accept all subpoenas that pertain to any Department employees.
2. The CLU shall deliver subpoenas from Monda y through Friday, except on holidays.
3. The CLU staff shall send an electronic copy of the original directly to the employee listed on the
subpoena.
4. Employees receiving a subpoena shall:
a. log into the Subpoena Tracker web site to acknowledge service.
b. notify the Deputy District Attorney (DDA) of any conflicts with their schedule and attempt to
resolve the conflict. If an employee cannot make personal contact with the DDA, they shall
contact the CLU. Traffic Court conflicts shall be coordinated through the CLU.
E. DOCUMENTING SUBPOENA ACTIVITY
1. To properly document subpoena activity on their payroll records, employees shall:
a. submit their activity through the Subpoena Trac ker web site and deliver an electronic receipt
to their supervisor.
b. when requested, the employee shall produce the Subpoena Tracker overtime receipt for time
card verification.
2. Supervisors shall use the Subpoena Tracker electronic receipt feature to ensure that time claimed
for court is accurately reflected on the employee’s payroll record.
F. COURT/HEARING APPEARANCES
1. Validation for both on and off-duty court/hearing appearances is mandatory and shall include:
a. the employee's arrival and departure time(s) and date(s).
b. the initials and badge number of the authorized individual who validated the appearance.
2. Officers’ arrival and departure times for court cases involving adult defendants shall be validated
by the CLU.
3. Officers’ arrival and departure times for Traffic Court and Juvenile Hall court appearances shall be
validated by the DDA's receptionist, the DDA, or the Juvenile Court/Traffic Hearing Officer
assigned to the case.
4. For employees with a “To Be Notified” subpoena, the CLU shall attempt to contact the employee
with at least a one (1) day