Operations officers, branch managers and security officers are generally the recipients of search warrants served by law enforcement agents. Search warrants are often confused with subpoenas and, even though both legal processes require the institution to furnish information, there are some significant differences.
Subpoena: issued by an officer of the court or a grand jury, a subpoena may be served by a sheriff's officer, a clerk of the court, or by mail or FAX, and generally must be complied with by a certain number of days from the date of service. (Note: Be sure the subpoena bears the signature of the clerk of the court and is valid!) Sometimes you may receive what is commonly known as a "boxcar" subpoena that may request all records on an account for an entire year - all statements, copies of front and back of all checks written and all checks deposited, copies of all deposit tickets, etc. If your subpoena asks for all that, call the attorney whose name is on the front of the document and ask if there is anything specific he or she wants. Very often the "all-records" request is automatic, when all that is really needed is the front and back of one check and the signature card! The date may also be negotiable. It's customary to put the next week's date as "due time" for the records, when actually the trial is not coming up for six months. Ask!
Search warrant: issued by a magistrate (judge), a search warrant may only be served by a law enforcement officer and must be complied with immediately.
When a subpoena is served on a financial institution, a copy is usually sent to the customer at the same time. This is not true of a search warrant. In fact, if probable cause has been given the court, there may be a non-disclosure notice on the search warrant that forbids you to even notify the customer for a specified number of days. Issuance of a search warrant usually means there is an investigation currently in process.
Copyright © 1997 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1/97