Lawyer's Mumbo Jumbo

We are not lawyers ... but we need to understand their lexicon (lawyers always have their own lingo only they can understand. Same with doctors, nurses, and engineers) 

We spend our waking hours on YouTube, and we are always exposed to hearings and debates—and also their private conversations. All we do is scratch our heads because they use legal terminologies that sound too foreign and alien to our virgin ears, and our mind wonders what they are talking about.

Let's start decoding and decrypting these words and phrases (it is irreverent for us to enter the sanctum of the in ... but desperate times need desperate measures) so the next time they use these terms again ... we are on the same page with them.  Not in limbo.

We will try to dissect and define them in simpler language so ordinary mortals and laymen (the amateur and the non-experts) can actively participate in the discussion ... and at the same time broaden their legal and paralegal stock knowledge,

So our word or phrase that is hitting the headlines today is: subpoena, subpena duces tecum, and ad testificandum.

PHRASE: Subpoena, Subpoena duces tecum, ad testicandum

MEANING: Subpoena and Subpoena duces tecum - Just so everybody will not get confused these two are not the same.

A subpoena is an Order issued to require the person's (witness or accused) presence and attendance to testify in court at a particular time and place. A subpoena duces tecum is an Order that requires a witness to bring documents, books, or other items under his, her, or their control that he, she, or they is bound by law to produce into evidence.

Subpoena duces tecum is " a court order or subpoena for the production of evidence." In this case, the witness is required to bring with him pieces of evidence that include receipts and other tangible objects for examination at a trial or hearing. This evidence is the paper trail that is pertinent to any legal proceeding. Duces tecum comes from the Latin word “you shall bring with you.”

Another word that needs definition is ad testificandum. It is a Latin term that means "to testify." It refers to a legal order, such as a subpoena, that requires a person to appear in court and give testimony. A subpoena is a written order that commands a person to appear before a court or other tribunal, subject to a penalty for failing to comply.

EXAMPLE: In the Committee of Good Governance and Public Accountability, a subpoena duces tecum was issued to obtain a copy of the acknowledgment receipt of money issued to identify its authenticity and veracity.