Does a state have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and production of documents?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Civiletti v. Municipal Court, 116 Cal.App.3d 105, 172 Cal.Rptr. 83 (Cal. App. 1981):

Regarding "the power ... to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, and to punish by fine and imprisonment" in United States v. McLeod, supra, 385 F.2d at page 752, the opinion notes that "When this power is asserted by a state sovereignty over the federal sovereignty, it is in contravention of our dual form of government and in derogation of the powers of the federal sovereignty. The state having the power to subpoena may abuse that power .... This power could embarrass, impede, and obstruct the administration of a federal agency."

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