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Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert

Failure to Honor a Subpoena

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National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (see reuse policy).

Failure to honor a personally served subpoena may result in court-ordered sanctions of a fine or the forced surrender of the person. A court's authority to impose these sanctions is known as its contempt power. A witness who ignores, disregards or even forgets to honor a subpoena to appear and testify may be held in contempt of court.

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