A New Jersey appeals court has turned back a constitutional challenge to an order threatening debtors with imprisonment if they fail to comply with a lender’s discovery request.

A husband and wife who were guarantors of a $17 million loan claimed their Fifth Amendment rights were violated when a Superior Court judge issued a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum in response to their refusal to answer questions from the lender at a deposition. But the appeals court said their perceived constitutional injury is, at best, unripe because the court below has yet to conduct a hearing on the couple’s Fifth Amendment defense.