What's a subpoena, anyway?

[Rick Ackley]

Dictionary says:
Definition:
legal order demanding evidence: a written legal order summoning a witness or requiring evidence to be submitted to a court or similar deliberative body.
Seems pretty official to me. JMO.

[justplugit]

Jim,call your family lawyer and run it by him.

[Mike P]

Well, for starters, was it signed by a lawyer, or by a judge? That there makes a huge difference in the consequences for ignoring it.

Secondly--is there any proof of service? Was it delivered in-hand by someone authorized to serve process? Was it delivered by certified mail? Or did it just come by regular first class mail?

[Jimbo]

It came by regular mail, but this just keeps getting more and more bizarre. My wife contacted the court this morning who had no record of her being a witness, but from the docket number determined it weas the case she's involved in. So then she calls the lawyer again and says if she doesn't hear back she might not show up. Two minutes later the lawyer calls back. OK, we gotta go tonight but he'll try to get it over quickly. (We got the whole family plus a boyfriend going for moral support. Wife's popping anxiety pills like Pez). She gets home from work and there's a message from the municipal court (that had no record of her being involved) that the hearing is postponed. That message was left about the time she was on the phone with them from work.