A very common question asked in interstate discovery revolves around which state’s laws apply. In other words, if one issues a subpoena out of, let’s say Arizona, and that subpoena is domesticated in California, do Arizona’s rules apply or do California’s? The answer is: it depends. Matters of civil procedure will typically fall under California law. The rules of evidence, however, would be governed by the rules set forth under Arizona law.
A perfect example of this, is statutory witness fees. California Government Code section 68903 reads as follows:
“Except as otherwise provided by law, witness’ fees for each day’s actual attendance, when legally required to attend a civil action or proceeding in the superior courts, are thirty-five dollars ($35) a day and mileage actually traveled, both ways, twenty cents ($0.20) a mile.“
This same witness fee statute applies to depositions and applies to out-of-state depositions domesticated in the California. In fact, the “Deposition Subpoena for Personal Appearance in Action Pending Outside California” California Judicial Council form explicitly states so:
Nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee or prediction of your case. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result.