Serving Subpoenas for a Criminal Complaint Case in Colorado

Published May 15, 2021 | By Accurate Serve Denver

Whether you’re prosecuting a criminal case or defending the accused, chances are you’ll need to have a subpoena served at some point during the criminal complaint process in Colorado. Just one mistake in the process of service could jeopardize your entire case. Hiring reliable process servers who are vigilant about compliance with state law is crucial to your success and your client’s future!

There are five main times when you may need to issue a subpoena during the process of a criminal complaint in CO:

Preliminary hearings
Grand Jury investigations
Depositions
Evidentiary hearings
Trials

Preliminary hearings are full-blown adversarial hearings. They are a mandatory offering to defendants in Colorado when felony charges have been filed, although most defendants waive their right to this hearing for various reasons. When preliminary hearings are held, witnesses are often subpoenaed and heard.

Grand juries are allowed to call witnesses while investigating whether or not criminal charges can even be filed. While this isn’t common since the arresting officer typically files criminal charges, it is sometimes done by the District Attorney’s office.

Depositions allow both the prosecution and the defense to gather evidence to help their case. Depositions are a common reason to subpoena someone in a criminal complaint.

Evidentiary hearings are usually called after a motion has been filed by either the prosecution or defense in a case. Evidentiary hearings often require witnesses to be subpoenaed to testify and present evidence relevant to the case.

Then there is the actual trial. While most cases end in plea negotiations, those that actually go to trial will require witnesses to be subpoenaed in almost all scenarios.

Your firm needs reliable process servers who are knowledgeable of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure related to serving subpoenas and process service in general. We guarantee that all subpoenas:

Will be served at least 48 hours prior to the expected appearance date
Will be served to all required parties, including the subpoena subject, other parties named in the case, and any pro se parties
Will include all required information relative to the subpoena subject and case
Will have proof of service that includes the date, location, and manner of service returned to you

With so many parts of the CO criminal complaint process to navigate, allow Accurate Serve to ease the burden with dependable and quality subpoena service by skilled and professional process servers. Please visit https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/ to find your local office and contact us today.