In a civil case, the summons is the notice of the lawsuit which is given to the person who is being sued. This gives the defendant the opportunity to appear in court and contest the claim. In a criminal case, an accused person can be released after the issuance of a summons given in lieu of an arrest by a warrant which requires the person be taken into custody.
A speeding ticket is, formally, such a summons. You do not have the right to ignore a subpoena. If you are served a subpoena, begin by fully reading through the subpoena to make sure you understand what is required of you. Do you need to appear in court to serve as a witness? Do you need to provide materials? Subpoena requests should be very specific.
Immediately make note of the court date or filing deadline on your calendar. If your subpoena states that you must appear in court, make sure you clear your schedule for that date.
In most situations it is appropriate to contact the attorney who requested or issued the subpoena. Sometimes, though, the subpoena may be hostile to your interests. There may also be an opportunity to quash or contest the subpoena, or there may be grounds to assert your Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
We can also help to prepare you if you are required to go to court as a witness in a criminal matter. Fill out the form below to request more information about how we can serve you. We look forward to supporting you. Thus, ignoring the subpoena is not an option. However, if you have suffered physical, psychological, or economic harm because of a felony, assault and battery, stalking, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, driving while intoxicated, or violation of a protective order, then you may have additional rights and protections if you are called as a witness.
These rights and protections include:. However, in certain cases, the witness may be subjecting himself to criminal liability by appearing and testifying under oath. For example, a witness who was involved in a criminal enterprise but has not been charged may be subpoenaed to testify against another defendant.
This witness may incriminate himself while testifying, which could later be used to bring charges against him. Other times, a witness may have previously provided inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information to law enforcement. In this case, testifying truthfully under oath may subject the witness to charges of obstruction of justice, while lying under oath to avoid charges of obstruction of justice may subject him to a felony perjury charge. In these circumstances, the subpoenaed witness likely has a right under the Fifth Amendment not to testify in order to avoid self-incrimination.
In appropriate cases, an experienced attorney may be able to negotiate an immunity agreement with the prosecutors in exchange for your testimony. Such an agreement would protect you from the direct use of your testimony or pre-testimony statements being used against you in the future, subject to limited exceptions that would be clearly stated in the immunity agreement.
Failure to abide by a court order can result in a finding of contempt. A finding of contempt can result in jail time. That is the short answer. The longer answer is that this question is slightly more complicated. There are many cases of alleged domestic violence where the alleged victim does not want to show up to testify against the defendant. There are many reasons for this, some valid and some not. Without going into the reasons for not wanting to testify against a defendant, a legally issued subpoena is a court order to get the alleged victim or other witnesses to court.
This raises several other questions. First, what is a legally issued subpoena? In order to be legally binding, the subpoena must be legally served on the alleged victim or other witness. Second, what happens if I do not go to court despite the subpoena? To get answers, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.
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