I was served a subpoena to give a deposition in my boyfriends divorce trial(she cheated, not him) five days in advance. I have a prior work ...

Question

I was served a subpoena to give a deposition in my boyfriends divorce trial(she cheated, not him) five days in advance. I have a prior work commitment out if town, and cannot attend(out of town). The wife's attorney says she told my boyfriends attorney two weeks ago. I was never told any of this, I don't speak to his attorney. I told her I could not attend, She is threatening me with contempt...?

Answer

There is no legal requirement that a witness be subpoenaed a set amount of time prior to the date at which they are required to appear. So the fact that you only received the subpoena 5 days before the trial is not in and of itself a problem. That being said, the rule regarding contempt states: "Failure by any person without adequate excuse to obey a

subpoena served upon that person may be deemed a contempt of the court from

which the subpoena issued." Therefore, if the Judge agrees with you that you had an adequate excuse, you will not be held in contempt.