Art. 1357 Failure to comply with subpoena

If you get a subpoena and ignore it without a good reason, you can get in serious trouble with the court. A subpoena is a legal order that requires you to show up and testify or bring certain documents, and simply skipping it is not an option unless you have a valid excuse.

The court can hold you in contempt for failing to comply. Contempt of court means you have disobeyed a court order, and it can lead to fines or other penalties depending on how the judge decides to handle it.

The court also has the power to send law enforcement to physically bring you in if you refuse to show up on your own. This means officers can pick you up and take you straight to court, either right away or on a specific date the judge sets. This rule exists to make sure people cannot dodge their legal responsibilities when they are called to be part of a court case, whether as a witness or to provide evidence.