subpoena

Related to subpoena: subpoena duces tecum

subpoena (someone or something) to (do something)

To issue a formal legal order under authority of a court of law commanding a person to appear at court or do something in court. His life could be in danger if the mob finds out he's been subpoenaed to testify. I didn't even know that I had been given a speeding ticket until I was subpoenaed to appear in court and pay the fine I owed.
See also: subpoena
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

subpoena someone to do something

to formally deliver a document forcing someone to do something for a legal process. The attorney subpoenaed a number of witnesses to testify. I subpoenaed four witnesses to appear but none of them showed up.
See also: subpoena
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • subpoena (someone or something) to (do something)
  • subpoena to do
  • appear in court
  • stand up in court
  • take the bench
  • in chancery
  • pendente lite
  • per curiam
  • have the ball in (one's) court
  • have the ball in court
References in periodicals archive
Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has started making examples of companies that did not take its administrative subpoenas for information involving alleged sanctions violations seriously.
In addition, the President's lawyers point out that the subpoena has placed the accounting firm in an ethical quandary.
Otaru said the petitioners had nearly three weeks since the tribunal adjourned to get the WAEC representative to appear before the tribunal to prove its case but waited till June 9 to serve the subpoena.
Neal said in a statement he issued the subpoenas to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.
The full scope of the subpoenas to Deutsche Bank could not be determined.
Before the Court are Liberty Power's Motion to Bifurcate Class Discovery, and Plaintiffs' Motion for a Protective Order regarding certain third-party subpoenas.
'Now, Duterte is threatening to subpoena my mother.
Section 8 (3) of the Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation of the House of Representatives provides: "Subpoena shall be served to a witness at least three days before a scheduled hearing in order to give the witness every opportunity to prepare for the hearing and to employ counsel, should the witness desire." Despite Diokno's absence, the DBM on Friday submitted to the House panel copies of the documents being subpoenaed for its "perusal and reference.
hotel since he took office, the subpoenas offer the best chance to get a complete picture of which foreign and domestic governments are spending at the hotel, how much they are spending and where that money is going.
"If you subpoena someone to show up and they don't show up, all their signatures are automatically disqualified.
CPA firms are often uncertain about whether or how to comply with a subpoena while meeting with a number of rules and regulations that are intended to protect client confidentiality.
  For some lawyers, especially those in far-flung rural areas, driving to the nearest courthouse to have the clerk issue a subpoena in a criminal case can be a time-consuming hassle.
Financial documents submitted to a valuation company and later sought by subpoena were not privileged under either attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine.
President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon declines to comply with a subpoena ordering him to answer questions from a House intelligence panel about his time at the White House as part of its investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the U.S.
The High Court will on Friday determine Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's application to dismiss a subpoena for him to appear in a defamation lawsuit against Umno's Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos this Friday.