- 1). Call the clerk of the out-of-state trial court that has jurisdiction over the witness. The clerk will explain the court's process for deposing the witness. If the state has adopted the UFDA, you can file a Notice of Deposition in the witness' home trial court, just as you would file one in your home court.
- 2). Issue a subpoena for the witness. This process varies by state. States operating under the UFDA allow you to issue the same subpoena in the out-of-state trial court as you would your home trial court. Some states, however, require attorneys to first file a Notice of Deposition in their home trial court, then send a copy of the notice to the out-of-state trial court and ask the judge or court clerk to issue a subpoena. You will have to call the court clerk's office and ask to whom you would send the notice. Some states require attorneys to ask their home state trial court to write a letter to the out-of-state court and ask a judge to issue a subpoena for a deposition.
- 3). Hire a process server. No matter what procedure a state has for granting subpoena requests, you will have to find someone to serve the subpoena on the out-of-state witness. Attorneys with no out-of-state legal contacts can call the National Association of Process Servers for assistance. A subpoena may not be necessary if the witness agrees to attend the deposition without having to be served a subpoena.
- 4). Arrange a location to conduct the deposition. Contact your local legal acquaintances or out-of-town law firms and ask for suggestions for locations, such as law offices or conference rooms in a court. Make travel reservations (airplane, hotel, rental car) for yourself and any associates going with you.
- 5). Take the deposition. Some states require you to have a license to practice in that state. If you don't, you may have to hire a lawyer from that state to take the deposition for you. In these particular instances, you may also have to hire a lawyer from that state to file a request for the court to issue a subpoena for your witness. This is something that you will know about early on in the process when you call the court clerk's office about procedures for taking an out-of-state deposition.
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