Can I be fond in contempt for failure to be a witness ifI never recieved a supoena?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can I be fond in contempt for failure to be a witness ifI never recieved a supoena?
I work in a local bar, where a fellow employee was in altercation with a patron. That person is suing him, and the defendant wanted me to be a witness. The court hearing is today, and I was told I would be in contempt if I didn’t show. I was never served a subpoena.
Asked on April 12, 2011 under Criminal Law, Michigan
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
From the way that you have presented the facts here I would have to say that the answer to your question is no, you can not be held in contempt of court for failure to appear if you were never in fact served with a subpoena in the matter. And the subpeona probably needs to be so ordered by a judge to have you be held in contempt or some proceeding before a judge must be had to show you ignored the subpoena. This is a civil proceeding, correct, between the patron and the employee and not a criminal proceeding for assault and battery brought by the District Attorney or County Prosecutor's office. The parties want you to be a witness to the altercation to help either prove or disprove their case. Then they both should serve you with a subpeona. You can voluntarily be a witness as well. That is a choice that you need to make. Good luck to you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.