Definition

1. Noun:

   • A formal written order issued by a court, government agency, or legislative body that commands a person to appear at a specific time and place to give testimony or to produce documents or other evidence. Failure to comply can result in penalties for contempt of court.

2. Verb:

   • To serve or summon someone with a subpoena; to legally compel a person's attendance or the production of evidence through the issuance of such a writ.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:

  • The lawyer issued a subpoena to compel the key witness to testify at the trial.
  • The company received a subpoena for all financial records from the last five years.

• Verb:

  • The prosecutor decided to subpoena the former employee.
  • The journalist was subpoenaed to reveal her confidential sources.

Advanced Usage

• "to be under subpoena": To be legally obligated to comply with a subpoena that has been served.

  • As a material witness, he is under subpoena and must appear in court next week.

• "to quash a subpoena": To ask a court to cancel or invalidate a subpoena, often on the grounds that it is unreasonable, overly broad, or improper.

  • The defense attorney filed a motion to quash the subpoena for the doctor's personal notes.

Variants and Related Words

• Subpoena duces tecum (n): A specific type of subpoena that commands a person to produce physical evidence, such as documents or records, at a legal proceeding.

  • The subpoena duces tecum required the bank to bring the loan agreements to the hearing.

• Subpoena ad testificandum (n): A subpoena that specifically commands a person to appear and give oral testimony.

  • The subpoena ad testificandum was served to the expert witness.

Synonyms

• Summons (n): A call by an authority to appear, come, or do something. (Note: A is often a notice to appear in court as a defendant, while a is for witnesses or evidence.)
• Writ (n): A formal written order issued by a court.

Related Phrases

• "to serve a subpoena": To deliver a subpoena officially to the person or entity it commands.

  • The process server attempted to serve the subpoena at the witness's home address.

• "to comply with a subpoena": To obey the commands of a subpoena.

  • The organization chose to comply with the subpoena and provided the requested emails.

Idioms

(This word is highly specific to legal contexts and does not commonly appear in idiomatic expressions.)

Noun

1. a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court

Verb

1. serve or summon with a subpoena
   • The witness and her records were subpoenaed