38 U.S.C. § 5711
Section 5711 · Authority to issue subpoenas
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Gambill v. Shinseki (2009)
Most recently applied in Dale S. Horn v. Eric K. Shinseki (June 2012)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) For the purposes of the laws administered by the Secretary, the Secretary, and those employees to whom the Secretary may delegate such authority, to the extent of the authority so delegated, shall have the power to—
(1) issue subpoenas for and compel the attendance of witnesses within a radius of 100 miles from the place of hearing;
(2) require the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence;
(3) take affidavits and administer oaths and affirmations;
(4) aid claimants in the preparation and presentation of claims; and
(5) make investigations and examine witnesses upon any matter within the jurisdiction of the Department.
(b) Any person required by such subpoena to attend as a witness shall be allowed and paid the same fees and mileage as are paid witnesses in the district courts of the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1991—Pub. L. 102–40 renumbered section 3311 of this title as this section.
Pub. L. 102–54 amended section as in effect immediately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by substituting “subpoenas” for “subpenas” in section catchline and amending text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “For the purposes of the laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration, the Administrator, and those employees to whom the Administrator may delegate such authority, to the extent of the authority so delegated, shall have the power to issue subpenas for and compel the attendance of witnesses within a radius of one hundred miles from the place of hearing, to require the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence, to take affidavits, to administer oaths and affirmations, to aid claimants in the preparation and presentation of claims, and to make investigations and examine witnesses upon any matter within the jurisdiction of the Veterans’ Administration. Any person required by such subpena to attend as a witness shall be allowed and paid the same fees and mileage as are paid witnesses in the district courts of the United States.”