Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: supena (

If you are thinking of "throwing out" a subpoena that has been served on you -- and then not attend the hearing stated in the subpoena -- beware that you might get arrested and be held in contempt of court, which could result in owing money or jail time.

A subpoena is a court order to attend a court proceeding (e.g., trial, felony preliminary examination, civil infraction formal hearing, evidentiary hearing, deposition, grand jury hearing). The power of the court is behind it. When you fail to appear as directed, a party can ask the court to issue a bench warrant for your arrest, or a show cause order to require you to come to the court to explain why you did not appear.

If you think your information is "inadmissible", you (as a layperson unskilled in The Law and things like the Rules of Evidence) should not make this decision. Talk to an attorney in private practice who might be able to intervene on your behalf. Better yet, talk to the attorney who issued the subpoena and ask what you're going to be asked to testify about, why your testimony is relevant, admissible, etc. You may find that your information IS important, but you don't know it.

A witness who has been served with a subpoena can file a Motion to Quash the subpoena. This essentially asks the court to 'throw the subpoena out' ... but after a chance for the parties to argue their positions to the judge on why the witness' testimony is relevant, or why not. Another example is if the person has an unavoidable conflict that creates a major hardship for appearing as directed (e.g., wedding, pre-paid vacation, etc.). Again, it's is the JUDGE that decides whether the subpoena should still be valid ... not the person served with the subpoena.