The Uniform Law to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Within or Without a State in Criminal Proceedings, also known as the Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Without a State in Criminal Proceedings,U.S. Senate (1962). " Conduct of the Trial; Securing the Attendance of Witnesses from Without a State in Criminal Proceedings," 87th United States Congress, p. 566. is a uniform law within the United States. It provides a process by which an attorney in a criminal matter in one U.S. state may seek to secure the attendance of a witness (or seek documents from a witness) from another state; the process requires the approval of courts in both the state in which the criminal matter is being heard, as well as a court in the state in which the witness is found. In the absence of the process being followed, the subpoena power of any state court in the United States generally ends at that state’s border.

The uniform law was drafted in 1931, and revised in 1936. In 1959, the U.S. Supreme Court sustained the Act in an opinion in New York v. O'Neill written by Justice Felix Frankfurter. By 2012, it had been adopted by all states in the United States.

History

The subpoena power of any state court in the United States generally ends at that state’s border."Securing the Attendance of Witnesses by Subpoena and Other Process," NC Defender Manual Vol. 2, Trial, Chapter 29 (2018).Rhonda Wasserman (1989). "The Supoena Power: Pennoyer's Last Vestige," 74 Minnesota Law Review 37. Consequently, lacking any powers outside the state's border, state prosecutors and defense attorneys in a state criminal case cannot use the same procedures that they would use to obtain a subpoena for an out-of-state witness that they would for an in-state witness. To address that, the Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Without a State in Criminal Proceedings was created. It provides a mechanism and processes for a state prosecutor or defense attorney in a state criminal case to seek to require a witness from another state to testify (or provide documents) in his state.Darrell E. White II (May 18, 2021). "Subpoenaing Out-of-State Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings: A Step-by-Step Guide," National Association of Attorneys General.

The Uniform Law to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Within or Without a State in Criminal Proceedings was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.Joseph F. Zimmerman (2010). Congress; Facilitator of State Action, State University of New York Press. It was drafted by the Conference at its 46th annual meeting in September 1931 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in cooperation with the American Law Institute.Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court, page A-1, 1970.Stephen Birmingham (1972). The Late John Marquand; A Biography, Lippincott. It was revised in August 1936 in Boston, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Interstate Commission on Crime, which also approved it that month.United States Congress (January 10, 1952). "Securing the Attendance of Witnesses from Without the District of Columbia in Criminal Proceedings," Senate, Reports and Documents; Volume 12.Tenn. Code Ann, §§ 40-17-201 to 40-17-212. The American Bar Association approved it in September 1931, and re-approved it in August 1936. The Conference recommended its adoption in all jurisdictions.James W. Day (September 1955). "The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws," Florida Law Review, volume 8, issue 3.

By 1959, 42 state legislatures and the Puerto Rico legislature had adopted it. That year, the U.S. Supreme Court sustained the Act in New York v. O'Neill, 359 U.S. 1 (1959), in an opinion written by Justice Felix Frankfurter .Gerald Gunther (1985). Constitutional Law, Foundation Press.Jacobus TenBroek (1966). The Law of the Poor, Chandler Publishing Company. By 2012, all states in the United States had adopted the Uniform Law, starting with North Dakota in 1931 and ending with Alabama in 1977.Joseph F. Zimmerman (2012). Horizontal Federalism; Interstate Relations, State University of New York Press.

Provisions The law includes provisions for seeking attendance of out-of-state witnesses at criminal proceedings (or submission of documents) in the originating state's courts on a showing of materiality, necessity, and the absence of any contravening public policy.Wade Davies (July/August 2022) "How and Why to Use the Uniform Law to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses", Tennessee Bar Journal, Vol. 58, No. 4.Nancy Hollander, Barbara Bergman, and Melissa Stephenson (2009). Wharton's Criminal Procedure, Volume 1, Thomson/West.

Obtaining a subpoena under the Uniform Act requires the filing of a timely motion asking a court in State A (where the trial will take place) to issue a certificate order that formally asks a court in State B to summon a witness to appear in State A or to provide documents in State A (a subpoena duces tecum). That motion must contain convincing evidence that the witness is a material witness in a State A criminal prosecution. A merely conclusory statement that the witness is material, simply asserting it, is not sufficient. If the State A court grants the motion, it will issue a certificate that can be filed in a court in State B where the witness lives. The State B court would then hold a "materiality hearing" to decide whether—in the opinion of the State B court—the witness should be required to testify in State A (or provide documents there). Among other things, at that hearing the State B court considers whether it is convinced that the witness is in fact a material and "necessary" witness, whether the testimony would be cumulative, whether compelling the witness would cause undue hardship, and whether there are public policy grounds pursuant to which the court should deny the request.George A. Cohon (1960-1961). "Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of out of State Witnesses in Criminal Cases-Process-Extradition-Privileges and Immunities-Due Process," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Volume 51, Issue 1, Article 8. The burden of proof at the materiality hearing is on the party requesting the subpoena."UNIFORM ACT TO SECURE THE ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES FROM WITHOUT A STATE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS," hrw.org (1936).

See also List of uniform acts (United States)

References