[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 6, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 6CFR5.43]

[Page 27-28]
 
                       TITLE 6--HOMELAND SECURITY
 
   CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
 
PART 5_DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart C_Disclosure of Information in Litigation
 
Sec.  5.43  Service of subpoenas, court orders, and other demands or 

requests for official information or action.

    (a) Except in cases in which the Department is represented by legal 
counsel who have entered an appearance or otherwise given notice of 
their representation, only the Office of the General Counsel is 
authorized to receive and accept subpoenas, or other demands or requests 
directed to the Secretary, the Department, or any component thereof, or 
its employees, whether civil or criminal in nature, for:
    (1) Material, including documents, contained in the files of the 
Department;
    (2) Information, including testimony, affidavits, declarations, 
admissions, responses to interrogatories, or informal statements, 
relating to material contained in the files of the Department or which 
any Department employee acquired in the course and scope of the 
performance of his official duties;
    (3) Garnishment or attachment of compensation of current or former 
employees; or
    (4) The performance or non-performance of any official Department 
duty.
    (b) In the event that any subpoena, demand, or request is sought to 
be delivered to a Department employee other than in the manner 
prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section, such employee shall, after 
consultation with the Office of the General Counsel, decline service and 
direct the server of process to the Departmental regulations. If the 
subpoena, demand, or other request is nonetheless delivered to the 
employee, the employee shall immediately forward a copy of that document 
to the Office of the General Counsel.
    (c) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, the Department is 
not an

[[Page 28]]

agent for service, or otherwise authorized to accept on behalf of its 
employees, any subpoenas, show-cause orders, or similar compulsory 
process of federal or state courts, or requests from private individuals 
or attorneys, which are not related to the employees' official duties 
except upon the express, written authorization of the individual 
Department employee to whom such demand or request is directed.
    (d) Acceptance of such documents by the Office of the General 
Counsel does not constitute a waiver of any defenses that might 
otherwise exist with respect to service under the Federal Rules of Civil 
or Criminal Procedure or other applicable rules.
    (e) Copies of any subpoenas, show cause orders, or similar 
compulsory process of federal or state courts, or requests from private 
individuals or attorneys, directed to former employees of the Department 
in connection with legal proceedings arising out of the performance of 
official duties shall also be served upon the Office of the General 
Counsel. The Department shall not, however, serve as an agent for 
service for the former employee, nor is the Department otherwise 
authorized to accept service on behalf of its former employees. If the 
demand involves their official duties, former employees who receive 
subpoenas, show cause orders, or similar compulsory process of federal 
or state courts should also notify in the component of the Department in 
which they were employed if the service involves their official duties 
while so employed.
    (f) If the subpoena, demand, or other request is nonetheless 
delivered to the employee, the employee shall immediately forward a copy 
of that document to the Office of the General Counsel.