Art. 737 Contempt; attachment of witnesses failing to appear

If someone gets served with a subpoena and then refuses to show up in court without a good reason, that person can be held in direct contempt of court. This means the court can find them in violation right away, without a separate hearing, as long as there's proof on record that the subpoena was properly served.

When this happens, the judge can issue an order to have the witness picked up and brought straight to court. This is called an attachment order. It allows law enforcement to physically bring the person before the judge instead of waiting for them to show up on their own.

The order can be carried out anywhere in the state. The sheriff from the parish where the case is being heard can execute it, or the sheriff from whatever parish the witness happens to be in can do it. This means a witness can't avoid the order just by leaving the parish where the case is taking place.