Service of Process and the Process Servers that Carry it Out
Process servers are employed to carry out a particular aspect of law known as Service of Process. This is a procedure that is used to inform defendants and others of the jurisdiction of a court over them, in order that such persons can respond to any proceedings taken against them. This is normally carried out by the personal delivery of documents to the person or persons concerned.
In some cases, a process can be served by other means, such as through the mail or to another in the place of residence of the individual, but normally to the person him or herself. Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, every citizen has the right to due process of law, and the function of process servers is to inform them of any actions being taken against them, and enable them to defend themselves against any charges made.
In the USA, personal service is generally required in order to prove that the defendant has been duly informed of any summons or complaint against them, and the process server carrying out this duty should be an adult who is not personally involved in the litigation. In some cases, process servers should be an official such as a sheriff, bailiff or other legal official, and some states, including Arizona, California and Illinois, require private process servers to be licensed.
In others, such as Georgia, a private server needs a court order to allow them to carry out the job. However, irrespective of the qualifications or certification of process servers, the service must be carried out according to the correct legal procedures, and a failure to do so is a common reason for cases being dismissed.
It is important, therefore, that if you are employing process servers you ensure that they are suitably qualified and certified where necessary, and experienced in their job, so that you have as low a chance of possible of your case being jeopardized through their failure to follow state law in the service of the process.
Process server in Atlanta, Georgia: MLQ Attorney Services