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Board says it cannot enforce subpoenas; will hear motions to quash as preliminary matters
Summary
The Baltimore County Board of Appeals clarified it can issue subpoenas but lacks power to compel attendance and said motions to quash and unresolved subpoenas will be handled at the start of the evidentiary hearing rather than by changing the scheduling order.
During deliberations on the motion to reconsider in case CBA 21017, the chair clarified the board's limits on subpoena authority. The chair stated that "the board can issue subpoenas, but cannot require persons to attend," and explained that practical handling of subpoenas and motions to quash is to address them as preliminary matters at the outset of an evidentiary hearing.
The procedural effect is that the board will not alter its current 30-day/15-day deadlines to create an additional pre-hearing window specifically to resolve subpoena issues. Instead, parties should expect to raise motions to quash and any subpoena-related disputes at the start of the evidentiary hearing; the board said it would schedule an additional hearing only if necessary to resolve outstanding preliminary matters.
