Live out of state, Must I show up for court as witness if subpeona

[Oreilly1]

I live out of the state of NC, however I have been subpeoned to show up for court in Charlotte NC as a plaintif in a Assult against a female.
I do not want to testify. Must I show up for court??

 

[Just Blue]

I live out of the state of NC, however I have been subpeoned to show up for court in Charlotte NC as a plaintif in a Assult against a female.
I do not want to testify. Must I show up for court??

Nah...Ignore it! The only thing the Judge can do is issue a warrant for your arrest for contempt of court.

In case you were not aware of this: A Subpoena is a COURT ORDER...NOT a "suggestion".

 

[tranquility]

Courts only get to "order" people around they have jurisdiction over.

Why does the NC court think they have jurisdiction over you? More facts would be needed, but generally, the court or attorney will have a court of your state issue the subpoena. Even then, there cannot be an undue burden on you. That would all depend on how important your testimony is and how far you would have to travel and the like.

If you really don't want to testify, spend an hour at a local attorney and tell him what happened. He might tell you to ignore it, attempt to quash it or contact the issuing attorney and see if there are any alternatives.

 

[Hot Topic]

"I don't want to go" and variations is not an excuse to get out of doing your civic duty.

 

[ajkroy]

I live out of the state of NC, however I have been subpeoned to show up for court in Charlotte NC as a plaintif in a Assult against a female.
I do not want to testify. Must I show up for court??

Okay, so you are suing someone who assaulted you, yet you don't want to cooperate?

 

[mistoffolees]

Courts only get to "order" people around they have jurisdiction over.

Why does the NC court think they have jurisdiction over you? More facts would be needed, but generally, the court or attorney will have a court of your state issue the subpoena. Even then, there cannot be an undue burden on you. That would all depend on how important your testimony is and how far you would have to travel and the like.

If you really don't want to testify, spend an hour at a local attorney and tell him what happened. He might tell you to ignore it, attempt to quash it or contact the issuing attorney and see if there are any alternatives.

However, OP was the plaintiff. I'm not sure, but I think that filing a complaint amounts to submission to NC jurisdiction.

 

[tranquility]

Yes. That's why I had asked why the court thought they had jurisdiction over her. I agree that case law may say that making a criminal complaint gives the court jurisdiction, but, even then there may be problems. I believe an attorney who will research the issues would be worth the time of the OP.

 

[LdiJ]

Yes. That's why I had asked why the court thought they had jurisdiction over her. I agree that case law may say that making a criminal complaint gives the court jurisdiction, but, even then there may be problems. I believe an attorney who will research the issues would be worth the time of the OP.

I agree. A state court has very limited ability to exercise jurisdiction over a resident of another state...and when they can exercise jurisdiction they have to be willing to extradite...and assume the costs of extradition.

Unless its a high profile criminal case, there isn't much chance that a state will be willing to assume the costs of extradition.

 

[mistoffolees]

I agree. A state court has very limited ability to exercise jurisdiction over a resident of another state...and when they can exercise jurisdiction they have to be willing to extradite...and assume the costs of extradition.

Unless its a high profile criminal case, there isn't much chance that a state will be willing to assume the costs of extradition.

I'm not sure it's that simple. If signing the complaint gave the court jurisdiction and she fails to show, she could be facing a contempt charge or even a warrant for her arrest. Next time she's in NC for vacation, she might get a trip to the slammer.

I would NEVER ignore a subpoena or any court order without speaking with a local attorney. You may be right, but I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[LdiJ]

I'm not sure it's that simple. If signing the complaint gave the court jurisdiction and she fails to show, she could be facing a contempt charge or even a warrant for her arrest. Next time she's in NC for vacation, she might get a trip to the slammer.

I would NEVER ignore a subpoena or any court order without speaking with a local attorney. You may be right, but I wouldn't take the chance.

Of course she (or he) could be facing a trip to the slammer should they ever return to the state in question...and actually get picked up...and the situation actually indicated a trip to the slammer.

 

[mistoffolees]

Of course she (or he) could be facing a trip to the slammer should they ever return to the state in question...and actually get picked up...and the situation actually indicated a trip to the slammer.

So then why are you suggesting that there's nothing to worry about?

 

[tranquility]

Even if there is not some long-arm statute or decision to gain jurisdiction over the OP, it's not a difficult matter to have a court with personal jurisdiction to issue the subpoena. It is done all the time. If the case were important, they should have done that here.

If the issuing court does not have jurisdiction, it is not a crime to ignore the order as the court did not have the right to make it. Even if the OP came back to the state, she could not be arrested for contempt. However, the court may be able to order she be seized in order to testify if she comes back.

 

[mistoffolees]

Even if there is not some long-arm statute or decision to gain jurisdiction over the OP, it's not a difficult matter to have a court with personal jurisdiction to issue the subpoena. It is done all the time. If the case were important, they should have done that here.

If the issuing court does not have jurisdiction, it is not a crime to ignore the order as the court did not have the right to make it. Even if the OP came back to the state, she could not be arrested for contempt. However, the court may be able to order she be seized in order to testify if she comes back.

True, but the point is that we don't know if she granted the court personal jurisdiction when she filed a complaint.

 

[tranquility]

True. But the long arm statute:

http://www.lrcvaw.org/laws/nclongarm.pdf

only has:

(2) Special Jurisdiction Statutes. -- In any action which may be brought under statutes of this
State that specifically confer grounds for personal jurisdiction.

as a possibility. I don't see being a victim of a crime as having a special jurisdiction statute, but haven't spent a lot of time in research.

To the OP, don't rely on what I've written (beyond my first post). You need to seek the advice of an attorney to review your facts before ignoring a subpoena.