“The orders are meant to help prosecutors compel testimony from problematic witnesses in criminal cases. But the orders are supposed to be used only in extraordinary circumstances, often when prosecutors fear a potential witness might flee instead of testifying. Controversy arose around federal prosecutors’ deployment of material witness orders after 9/11, when it came to light that they had used the warrants to detain large numbers of people to provide information about terror cases. But the use of these orders at the state-level remains largely unexamined.”
http://www.propublica.org/article/a-powerful-legal-tool-and-its-potential-for-abuse
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