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Rule 201. Compelling Appearance
TEXT
Any person may be compelled to appear and depose in the same manner as witnesses may be compelled to appear and testify in court provided, that when such depositions are to be taken at a point more than one hundred miles distant from the court where the, suit is pending, the party to whom such notice is given may, by notice to the adverse party or his attorney, require the deposition to be taken upon commission and written interrogatories, unless the judge or court before whom said suit is pending shall, upon proper application, after notice, made either in term time or vacation, otherwise direct.
Source: Art. 3754, unchanged.
Oct. 29, 1940, eff. Sept. 1, 1941.
AMENDMENTS
July 21, 1970, eff. Jan. 1, 1971
Oct. 3, 1972, eff. Feb. 1, 1973
June 10, 1980, eff. Jan. 1, 1981
Dec. 5, 1983, eff. April 1, 1984
April 24, 1984, eff. Oct. 1, 1984
July 15, 1987, eff. Jan. 1, 1988
April 24, 1990, eff. Sept. 1, 1990
Repealed by order of Aug. 4, 1998, and Nov. 9, 1998, eff. Jan. 1, 1999. See Rules 176.6, 199.1 et seq.
ADVISORY OPINIONS
(No. 74) Question: Where a commission has been duly issued by the clerk of the court to a notary public for taking of an oral deposition, is the subpoena to obtain the presence of the witness to be issued by the notary public, to whom the commission has been issued, or else to be issued by the clerk of the court who issued the commission (to wit, the clerk of the court in which the suit is pending)?
Answer: We think the commission should be issued by the notary public in accordance with Article 3757 of the Revised Statutes, which was not repealed by the adoption of the rules. This article provides in substance that the officer (meaning the officer to whom the commission for taking of the oral deposition is addressed, which is defined in Rule 203, and which is old Article 3756, unchanged) "shall have the same power and authority to enforce the attendance of the witness and to compel him to testify, as in cases of written interrogatories.” Under Rule 195 (which is old Article 3747, unchanged) the officer holding a commission for the taking of a deposition on written interrogatories has the authority "to issue a subpoena to the sheriff or any constable of the county requiring him to summon the witness to appear and answer interrogatories at the time and place named in the subpoena." The first part of Rule 201 reading:
"Any person may be compelled to appear and depose in the same manner as witnesses may be compelled to appear and testify in court… "
is cumulative of Article 3757 and does not relate particularly to the method of compelling the attendance of the witness, but rather defines the scope of the power of the officer over the witness as being that generally possessed by the court.
The question does not involve contempt proceeding for non-appearance and of course the opinion does not apply to that subject.
5 Tex. B.J. 465 (1942) reprinted in 8 Tex. B.J. 29 (1945).