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Name: Michael B. v. Superior Court
Case #: B160315
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 2 DCA
Division: 3
Opinion Date: 12/02/2002
Subsequent History: None
Summary

In a grand jury investigation into allegations that three Catholic priests committed acts of child molestation, the Los Angeles District Attorney seved grand jury subpoenas on the Archdiocese’s custodian of records seeking confidential files. The documents were produced, and the petitioners moved to quash the subpoenas. The motion was denied, and petitioners here sought a writ of mandate declaring that the subpoenas were defective for failing to meet the affidavit requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 1985, subdivision (b), and 1987.5, which require an affidavit to be filed with a subpoena duces tecum. The writ of mandate was denied by the appellate court. The grand jury had the power to issue the subpoenas duces tecum, and a grand jury’s subpoenas duces tecum do not require good cause affidavits.