By: Melvin Jackson
Monrovia: The Clars Hope Foundation, through its legal team, has filed a motion before Criminal Court “A” seeking to quash a writ of subpoena duces tecum, arguing that the court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction and legal authority to compel the production of its documents.
The motion follows a petition by the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force, which requested the court to subpoena the management of the Foundation to produce records relating to the construction of its facility in Marshall. The Foundation’s management is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, January 23, 2026.
However, hours ahead of the scheduled appearance, the Foundation filed a motion contending that no civil or criminal action is currently pending before the court against it. The lawyers argued that in the absence of a live case or controversy, the court cannot lawfully issue or enforce a subpoena.
“Under Liberian law, a subpoena, whether ad testificandum or duces tecum, is an ancillary process and must be issued in aid of a pending judicial proceeding,” the motion states. “A court cannot exercise compulsory process in a vacuum, nor compel attendance or the production of documents without a proper action before it.”
The defense cited Sections 14.1 and 14.2 of the Civil Procedure Law, which define a subpoena as a process issued within the context of an existing action and only by the court in which that action is brought. They also referenced Section 17.3 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which allows subpoenas at the request of the prosecuting attorney or the defendant, presupposing that a criminal case is already before the court.
According to the motion, where no action exists, the court lacks jurisdiction, rendering any subpoena null and void from the outset. The lawyers further relied on Article 21(h) of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, which guarantees the presumption of innocence and protects individuals from being compelled to provide evidence against themselves.
They argued that the subpoena duces tecum seeks to compel the Foundation to produce financial, donor, and institutional records without any formal charge or proceeding, describing such action as unconstitutional coerced evidence gathering.
Led by Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi and Atty. Walma Blaye Sampson, the Foundation’s legal team maintained that the State cannot use the courts as an investigative shortcut in the absence of due process and jurisdiction.
In conclusion, the motion prays the court to quash and set aside the writ of subpoena duces tecum for lack of jurisdiction, discharge the Foundation from any obligation to appear or produce documents, declare that compulsory process may only issue within a properly instituted action before a competent court, and grant any other relief the court deems just and equitable.
