← All d.c. letters

D.C. Letter 14: The Witness Planner

Reviewed previewThis page shows the reviewed public portion and the exact outline of the member edition.What the labels mean

When to Use It

D.C. hearing officers cannot issue a subpoena. Witness attendance runs on voluntary appearance first, and if that fails, on a Notice to Appear that the hearing officer signs, enforceable only by asking a court to enforce it, never by ODR itself (DC-Tool 18). That mechanism runs on its own clock, and this planner exists so you do not discover the clock has already closed.

A Notice to Appear must be requested at least 14 days before the date you need the witness, and the hearing officer signs it within two business days of a proper request; there is no document subpoena and no discovery to fall back on if a witness will not come voluntarily (checked August 13, 2026). Build your witness list working backward from the hearing date with that 14-day floor in mind, not forward from when you happen to get around to it. The witness list itself is part of your five-business-day disclosure and must reach every other party and ODR by that deadline (DC-Tool 20; DC-Letter 13). List enough about each witness that the other side and the hearing officer can locate and, if needed, arrange service on the person named Check what your own hearing officer's prehearing order requires each witness-list entry to contain beyond name and subject, because the standard operating procedures do not spell out one fixed contact-information field and practice varies by officer..

D.C.'s hearing can be conducted by videoconference, telephone, or in person, and the current SOP treats all three as coequal, hearing-officer-selected options rather than fixing any one of them as the default (DC-Tool 29). A remote witness needs access to the exhibits they will be asked about before they testify, not handed to them mid-examination, and your prehearing order controls how exhibits reach a remote witness, whether by upload or by mail. Build that access into your planning for every witness who will not be physically present, and confirm it with the other side or the hearing officer before the day arrives. If a witness needs an interpreter, request one at least 10 days out; interpreters are free, and hearing time roughly doubles with one in use.

Use it with: DC-Tool 18 (the Notice to Appear), DC-Tool 26 (direct examination), DC-Tool 27 (cross-examination), and DC-Tool 29 (hearing day, on video).