§ 25-1231.Subpoena; disobedience; refusal to testify or sign deposition; punishment of witness for contempt.

Section 25-1229 declares certain witness failures to be contempt, and section 25-1231 fills in what punishment follows. When a witness fails to attend in obedience to a subpoena — again excepting a demand for a witness fee that went unpaid — the court or officer may fine the witness up to fifty dollars. For the other forms of contempt this article addresses, such as refusing the oath, refusing to answer, or refusing to sign a deposition, the court or officer may impose a fine between five and fifty dollars, or may imprison the witness in the county jail until the witness submits to being sworn, to testifying, or to giving the deposition.

Where the fine goes depends on who imposed it. A fine the court imposes is paid to the county treasurer; a fine an officer imposes is for the use of the party for whom the witness was subpoenaed. That split reflects the different roles a court and an officer play in the proceeding and channels the officer-imposed fine toward compensating the party who lost the benefit of the witness’s cooperation.

Beyond the fine or imprisonment, the witness remains exposed to a separate civil claim. The witness is liable to the injured party for any damages caused by the failure to attend, or by the refusal to be sworn, to testify, or to give a deposition, meaning the contempt penalty does not exhaust the consequences a noncompliant witness can face.