Miss. R. Civ. P. 45

(a) Form; Issuance.

(1) Every subpoena shall:

(A) state the name of the court from which it was issued;

(B) state the title of the action;

(C) command each person to whom it is directed to attend and give testimony,

or to produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books,

documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the

possession, custody or control of that person, or to permit inspection of

premises, at a time and place therein specified;

(D) set forth the text of subdivisions (d) and (e) of this rule; and

(E) include a certificate of service.

A command to produce or to permit inspection may be joined with a command to appear at

trial or hearing or at deposition, or may be issued separately. A subpoena may specify the

form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.

(2) Subpoenas for attendance at a trial or hearing, for attendance at a deposition, and

for production or inspection shall issue from the court in which the action is pending.

(3) In the case of discovery to be taken in foreign litigation, the subpoena shall be

issued by a clerk of a court for the county in which the discovery is to be taken. The foreign

subpoena shall be submitted to the clerk of court in the county in which discovery is sought

to be conducted in this state. When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in

this state, the clerk, in accordance with that court’s procedure, shall promptly issue a

subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.

The subpoena under subsection (3) must incorporate the terms used in the foreign

subpoena and it must contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone

numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and any

party not represented by counsel.

A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under subsection (3) must otherwise be issued

and served in compliance with the rules of this state. An application to the court for a

protective order or to enforce, quash or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under

subsection (3) must comply with the rules of this state and be submitted to the issuing court

in the county in which discovery is to be conducted.

(4) The clerk shall issue a subpoena signed and sealed but otherwise in blank, to a

party requesting it, who shall fill it in before service. An attorney, as an officer of the court,

may also issue and sign a subpoena in any action pending in a court of this State if the

attorney is: (i) admitted to practice in this State or has been admitted pro hac vice in the

pending action; and is (ii) counsel of record in the pending action. A subpoena issued by an

attorney as the officer of the court shall include the attorney’s name, address, email address

and phone number and shall indicate whether the attorney represents the plaintiff, defendant

or third-party defendant.

(5) Once a subpoena has been issued and filled out, a copy of such subpoena shall be

immediately served upon each party in accordance with M.R.C.P. 5, even though the

subpoena itself has not yet been served.

(b) Place of Examination. A resident of the State of Mississippi may be required

to attend a deposition, production or inspection only in the county wherein he resides or is

employed or transacts his business in person, or at such other convenient place as is fixed by

an order of the court. A non-resident of this state subpoenaed within this state may be

required to attend only in the county wherein he is served, or at such other convenient place

as is fixed by an order of the court.

(c) Service.

(1) A subpoena may be served by a sheriff, or by his deputy, or by any other person

who is not a party and is not less than 18 years of age, and his return endorsed thereon shall

be prima facie proof of service, or the person served may acknowledge service in writing

on the subpoena. Service of the subpoena shall be executed upon the witness personally.

Except when excused by the court upon a showing of indigence, the party causing the

subpoena to issue shall tender to a non-party witness at the time of service the fee for one

day’s attendance plus mileage allowed by law. When the subpoena is issued on behalf of the

State of Mississippi or an officer or agency thereof, fees and mileage need not be tendered

in advance.

(2) Proof of service shall be promptly made by filing with the clerk of the court from

which the subpoena was issued a statement, certified by the person who made the service,

setting forth the date and manner of service, the county in which it was served, the names of

the persons served, and the name, address and telephone number of the person making the

service. A copy of such proof of service shall be immediately served upon all parties in

accordance with M.R.C.P. 5.

(d) Protection of Persons Subject to Subpoenas.

(1) In General.

(A) On timely motion, the court from which a subpoena was issued shall quash or

modify the subpoena if it (i) fails to allow reasonable time for compliance; (ii) requires

disclosure of privileged or other protected matter and no exception or waiver applies, (iii)

designates an improper place for examination, or (iv) subjects a person to undue burden or

expense.

(B) If a subpoena (i) requires disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential

research, development, or commercial information, or (ii) requires disclosure of an

unretained expert’s opinion or information not describing specific events or occurrences in

dispute and resulting from the expert’s study made not at the request of any party, the court

may order appearance or production only upon specified conditions.

(2) Subpoenas for Production or Inspection.

(A) A person commanded to produce and permit inspection and copying of designated

books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit

inspection of premises need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection

unless commanded by the subpoena to appear for deposition, hearing or trial. Unless for

good cause shown the court shortens the time, a subpoena for production or inspection shall

allow not less than ten days for the person upon whom it is served to comply with the

subpoena. Absent order of the court, production or inspection shall not be made until the

tenth day after the date of service of the subpoena on the recipient and this shall be

conspicuously noted on the face of the subpoena. A subpoena commanding production or

inspection will be subject to the provisions of Rule 26(d).

(B) The person to whom the subpoena is directed may, within ten days after the

service thereof or on or before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance, if such

time is less than ten days after service, serve upon the party serving the subpoena written

objection to inspection or copying of any or all of the designated materials, or to inspection

of the premises. If objection is made, the party serving the subpoena shall not be entitled to

inspect and copy the material except pursuant to an order of the court from which the

subpoena was issued. The party serving the subpoena may, if objection has been made, move

at any time upon notice to the person served for an order to compel the production or

inspection.

(C) The court, upon motion made promptly and in any event at or before the time

specified in the subpoena for compliance therewith, may (I) quash or modify the subpoena

if it is unreasonable or oppressive, or (ii) condition the denial of the motion upon the advance

by the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued of the reasonable cost of producing the

books, papers, documents, or tangible things.

(e) Duties in Responding to Subpoena.

(1) Producing Documents or Electronically Stored Information.

(A) Documents.

A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents shall produce them as they

are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with

the categories in the demand.

(B) Form for Producing Electronically Stored Information Not Specified.

If a subpoena does not specify a form for producing electronically stored information,

the person responding must produce it in a form or forms in which it is ordinarily maintained

or in a reasonably usable form or forms.

(C) Electronically Stored Information Produced in Only One Form.

The person responding need not produce the same electronically stored information

in more than one form.

(D) Inaccessible Electronically Stored Information.

The person responding need not provide discovery of electronically stored information

from sources that the person identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden

or cost. On motion to compel discovery, motion for a protective order, or motion to quash,

the person responding must show that the information is not reasonably accessible because

of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery

from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause, considering the limitations of

Rule 26(b)(5). The court may specify conditions for the discovery, including those listed in

Rule 26(b)(5).

(2) Claiming Privilege or Protection.

(A) Information Withheld.

When information subject to a subpoena is withheld on a claim that it is privileged or

subject to protection as trial preparation materials, the claim shall be made expressly and

shall be supported by a description of the nature of the documents, communications, or things

not produced that is sufficient to enable the demanding party to contest the claim.

(B) Information Produced.

If information produced in response to a subpoena is subject to a claim of privilege

or of protection as trial-preparation material, the person making the claim may notify any

party that received the information of the claim and the basis for it. After being notified, a

party must promptly return, sequester, or destroy the specified information and any copies

it has; must not use or disclose the information until the claim is resolved; must take

reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the party disclosed it before being notified; and

may promptly present the information to the court under seal for a determination of the claim.

The person who produced the information must preserve the information until the claim is

resolved.

(f) Sanctions. On motion of a party or of the person upon whom a subpoena for the

production of books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things

is served and upon a showing that the subpoena power is being exercised in bad faith or in

such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the party or the person upon

whom the subpoena is served, the court in which the action is pending shall order that the

subpoena be quashed and may enter such further orders as justice may require to curb abuses

of the powers granted under this rule. To this end, the court may impose an appropriate

sanction.

(g) Contempt. Failure by any person without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena

served upon him may be deemed a contempt of the court from which the subpoena issued.