A court order forcing a person to appear at trial or produce documents, or face penalties ordered by the court.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
subpoena (noun) a writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure
transitive verb
to serve or summon with a writ of subpoena
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
subpoena (noun)a written notice ordering a person to appear in court
SYNONYMS:
process, subpoenaRELATED WORDS:
capias, warrant, writ; ticket