Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An order issued under the authority of a court, commanding a person to appear in court on a particular date, usually to give testimony in a legal case.
- transitive verb To serve or summon with such a writ.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun law A
writ requiring someone toappear incourt to givetestimony . - verb To
summon with a subpoena.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a writ issued by court authority to compel the attendance of a witness at a judicial proceeding; disobedience may be punishable as a contempt of court
- verb serve or summon with a subpoena
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Working on my motion to quash this week, I was wondering if I was just delusional in thinking that the facts in this case area really, really clearly on my side, and that this subpoena is abusively broad.
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Protection against contempt for refusing a subpoena is a far cry from being immune to a search warrant.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Thoughts on the Legality of the Gizmodo Warrant 2010
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So the issuance of a subpoena is a simple task, done hundreds of thousands of times a day across the country.
One Subpoena Is All It Takes to Reveal Your Online Life - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
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If this subpoena is not a fishing expedition then what is?
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The Obama Administration also defied a subpoena from the U.S.
The Volokh Conspiracy » SEIU Picketing on Someone’s Front Porch? 2010
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From the subpoena: "This subpoena is issued under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 46104; and 49 C. F.R § 1503.3."
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I wondered if they just waved a paper in front of the guy -- personally I wouldn't know a real subpoena from a piece of letterhead with signatures on it typed up by the very people standing at my door.
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It sounds as if asking for the subpoena is illegal.
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Anyways, Indymedia received a subpoena from the US Justice Department asking for details of all site visitors on a particular date.
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Anyways, Indymedia received a subpoena from the US Justice Department asking for details of all site visitors on a particular date.
kewpid commented on the word subpoena
Literally, “under punishment” (of the court)
September 18, 2007