ABSTRACT
A subpoena is a written order, issued by a tribunal that requires a person to appear before and provide testimony to it. The subpoena power as it is understood today originated in medieval England, and its existence has evolved in the United States within the con text of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Subpoenas gain their compulsive force through the possibility of contempt and the consequences that contempt entails. The goal of the subpoena, when it is used in the legislative arena, is to gain information that will be useful in the conduct of legislative affairs. Within the judicial context, the subpoena is typically used to elicit testimony or documents from less- than-willing witnesses. The use of the subpoena power aids a tribunal significantly in its efforts to obtain vital information from unwilling sources. The Sixth Amendment also implicates the subpoena power as a form of compulsory process.
