What Is Subpoena?
A legal order requiring someone to appear in court to testify or to produce documents. If you receive a subpoena, you must comply — ignoring it is contempt of court.
Quick Answer
A legal order requiring someone to appear in court to testify or to produce documents. If you receive a subpoena, you must comply — ignoring it is contempt of court.
Full Explanation
A subpoena is a formal legal command issued by a court requiring a person to appear and testify (subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce documents, records, or other evidence (subpoena duces tecum). Unlike a request, a subpoena is mandatory — failure to comply can result in being held in contempt of court, with potential fines or imprisonment.
Subpoenas are issued in both civil and criminal proceedings. In civil cases, attorneys can issue subpoenas directly to third parties (non-parties) to obtain relevant documents or testimony not available from the parties themselves. In criminal cases, the prosecution uses grand jury subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify and produce records.
Subpoenas have limits. A court cannot issue a subpoena that exceeds its geographic jurisdiction. The materials sought must be relevant. Privileged communications — like attorney-client communications or medical records protected by privacy laws — may be protected from subpoenas, though the party asserting privilege must claim it.
The Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination in the context of subpoenas — a witness can refuse to answer questions (or sometimes produce documents) if the answer would tend to incriminate them. However, this privilege must be claimed affirmatively; witnesses cannot simply ignore a subpoena.
Third parties who receive subpoenas for documents can move to quash (cancel) the subpoena if it is overbroad, unduly burdensome, or seeks privileged materials.
Real-World Example
A news organization is subpoenaed to testify about a confidential source in a criminal case. The reporter asserts reporter's privilege — a common law and sometimes statutory protection for journalists. Whether the subpoena must be complied with depends on the jurisdiction and whether the privilege applies.
In the Watergate investigation, special prosecutor Leon Jaworski subpoenaed President Nixon's White House tape recordings. The Supreme Court, in United States v. Nixon (1974), unanimously ruled that executive privilege did not shield the tapes from the subpoena — Nixon had to produce them.
Why It Matters for Law Students
Subpoenas are a fundamental tool of litigation and investigation. Understanding the scope of subpoena power, how to comply with or challenge a subpoena, and how privileges interact with compelled disclosure is essential for civil litigators, criminal lawyers, and prosecutors.