Day 253 - 21 May 96 - Page 37
1 subpoenaed. Yes, it was 20th June.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am certainly no expert in the issue of
4 subpoenas.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Can I say, I was informed by my solicitors in a
7 different case that you have to serve a subpoena by hand,
8 you cannot ----
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10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: To serve it personally that means.
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12 MR. MORRIS: You cannot send it in the post. We have no
13 possible opportunity of serving a subpoena by hand to
14 anybody outside of London.
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16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where does she live?
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18 MR. MORRIS: North of England.
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20 MS. STEEL: Cheshire, I think.
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22 MR. MORRIS: But a judge can authorise a subpoena, or whatever,
23 and then it can be sent by post. That is what I was told,
24 an I do not know. Probably ----
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26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is not what it says in order 38, rule
27 17,. There may be some... I think what whoever spoke to
28 you may have been thinking about is that what is called
29 substituted service may be ordered where personal service
30 has proved impossible; for instance, because someone is
31 doing their best to avoid being served. Then you can order
32 service in some other way, for instance by post.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: It is because we do not have any agents that we
35 cannot serve it, anyway, even if the person was happy too
36 receive it, which they are.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you made inquiries as to what the charges
39 are for service of a subpoena? Although I am prepared to
40 approach the matter on the basis that you generally do not
41 have funds, or unlimited funds, you clearly have been able
42 to marshal some funds on some occasions, for instance to
43 get witnesses here, and you are presumably contemplating
44 paying Miss Brophy's fares from wherever she comes from,
45 and therefore you have to contemplate paying one of the
46 regular agents who serves subpoenas to serve it. I do not
47 know what the costs are of that, but I do not see that they
48 need be outrageous if she is, in effect, willing to be
49 served, because it is not a matter of an inquiry agent
50 having to track someone down and then find them in order to
51 serve.
52
53 MR. RAMPTON: Can I help? I know nothing of this at all, but
54 Mrs. Brinley-Codd says that what you do is you find out the
55 name of a process server in the area -- and the County
56 Court will tell you that if you do not know already -- and
57 then you send the subpoena by post to that person and they
58 trot round and give it.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I would expect they have standard fees,
