Posted by name on January 22, 2001, at 16:28:22
In reply to Re: Psycho-Babble Records » Lexie, posted by ksvt on January 22, 2001, at 7:34:36
>Unless you live in Illinois, I don't think a judge in your state could compel Dr. Bob to produce himself for testimony or to produce his records. State courts just don't have that kind of far reaching powers.
In both civil and criminal proceedings, state courts routinely subpoena records and individuals located in other states. Practical limitations would be the cost of paying the out-of-state witness' expenses, the likelihood that the witness will be a hostile witness and the difficulty of proving who made the posts. But if state courts did not enjoy mutual faith and trust, divorcing partners or other civil litigants could simply hide their assets across a state line.
>A word of caution - you (not Dr. Bob) could maybe be ordered to produce transcripts of what you posted here and for practical purposes of course, everything is archived and pretty well available anyway.
It is more likely that the party would be called to testify and then confronted with transcripts of their posts. Fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination do not extend to civil processes, but witnesses often suffer unusual memory impairments in such situations. Pres. Reagan would not or could not recall certain details when he was called to testify to Congress. Pres. Clinton was roundly criticised for his memory problems, though they seemed less important to the nation's interest than were Reagan's.
poster:name
thread:3924
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010105/msgs/4122.html