wittness at court

[irisheyes]

What happens to you if you have to go to court as a witness and you dont go?

[Piper-AK]

If a subpoena has been issued and you don't attend then you are in contempt.

from http://courts.state.ar.us/rules/civpro45.html 

When a witness fails to attend in obedience to a subpoena or intentionally evades the service of a subpoena by concealment or otherwise, the court may issue a warrant for arresting and bringing the witness before the court at a time and place to be fixed in the warrant, to give testimony and answer for contempt.

[JudgeJ]

Piper-AK provides the solution as applied in the USA.

In England and Wales if you are invited to give evidence in court and agree to do so there is no punishment if you fail to turn up. You have no legal obligation to the court or any individual.

Magistrates and judges have the power to issue a witness summons which obliges you to attend. Failure to answer the summons may lead to a warrant being issued for your arrest so that you may be forcibly brought before the court.

This procedure is not often used because although it ultimately ensures the attendance of the witness it does not guarantee they give evidence.

Witnesses who initially refuse to give evidence but who are later summoned very often lose all recollection of the events surrounding the case. A reluctant witness is very often worse than no witness at all. 

[KARL]

It is my understanding that a summons is unlikely to be issued in the case of a civil (litigation) case but may well be considered by a judge hearing a criminal case - especially if he/she feels it is likely the witness concerned may have a pivotal role to play.