To abscond is to deliberately avoid the legal process by either fleeing the jurisdiction or attempting to hide from law enforcement within the jurisdiction. This could include running away to avoid being served, to avoid being arrested, to avoid being prosecuted, etc. Absconding is not permitted by law, and can result in legal consequences.
An example of a person absconding to avoid facing the legal system would be a person who has a warrant out for his or her arrest in Colorado, and he or she runs away to Wyoming to try to escape being arrested. Another example could be a person who knows he is about to be served papers by law enforcement, and so he attempts to avoid encountering law enforcement agents while still living within his judicial district. There are a number of different ways that people try to abscond in order to prevent facing the legal system.