Interstate Discovery Just Got Easier (Maybe)

We live in an age when both people and transactions cross state borders more and more often. Evidence concerning what occurred in Pennsylvania is often located outside of the four corners of the Commonwealth and thus, beyond the subpoena power of Pennsylvania Courts.  This is true for all forms of litigation, not just family law.

In the past, if you needed to secure documents or depose a witness outside our borders, you had to secure something called a foreign commission.  Essentially, one filed a motion in the Pennsylvania case to be permitted to conduct discovery outside of the Commonwealth.  Your opposing parties could contest the motion here, typically on the basis that the evidence was not relevant or a mere fishing expedition.  If your relief was granted, you next hired counsel in the jurisdiction where the evidence or witness was located.  That attorney would file a miscellaneous action in the foreign court ("foreign" meaning outside Pennsylvania) specifying