Service of process involves providing a writ, subpoena, summons or other legal document to a defendant, informing him or her of the court’s jurisdiction over them, and of any forthcoming legal action being taken against them. The purpose is to permit them to prepare a defense against any charges being made.
Service of process is part of the American Constitution, and is intended to ensure that no individual has legal action taken against them, and sentence passed on them, without them being given the opportunity to have their day in court. It is contained within the 5th and 14th Amendments, and applies to every citizen within the United States of America. This comes with a price.
That is that many will try to use the lack of service as a defense against the action, and will do all they can to prevent the process being served. That is one reason why process servers tend to be well trained, and are also adept at skip tracing and surveillance. They must also be well conversant with the laws of their state.
Service of process law varies between states, particularly with respect to the authorization and those that are permitted to carry out the function. In some states process servers must be a legal official, such as marshal or bailiff, and in others it can be a private individual. In Georgia the server must have a court order to enable them to serve the process, and in other states there is no such restriction.
For these reasons, service of process is frequently a specialized function, and if you have a process to serve you are generally advised to have it done by a server operating in the state concerned, who is familiar with the laws of that state. To do otherwise could result in the service of process being carried out incorrectly, which could result in the case being dismissed.
MLQ Attorney Services is a process server in Atlanta Georgia.
