Process service is a familiar concept to those who work in the legal profession or courts, but may be unfamiliar to others. Process service has a long history, and plays a vital role in our legal system in the U.S. But why does it exist and why does it matter?
Origins of Process Service
The idea of process service may be traced all the way back to 13th century England and the Magna Carta. Part of the Magna Carta guaranteed that people could not be imprisoned or evicted from land without due process of law. While this idea may have been novel at the time, it was later enshrined in the U.S. Constitution as well.
The Constitution guarantees that a person cannot be denied life, liberty or property except by due process of law. While this may sometimes be frustrating for the plaintiff in a lawsuit, it is an important principle that protects each of us from being accused in court without having an opportunity to also appear and make an argument in our defense.
How Service of Process Works
Process service is used in many types of legal proceedings – both legal and civil – including divorce, child support and civil lawsuit cases. It is important that people who are involved in these types of proceedings are notified in advance so that they are aware of the pending legal action and have an opportunity to report and prepare a defense. A special set of rules applies to the service of process, though this may vary between different states. These guidelines ensure that service of process is performed consistently and fairly.
Process servers are the people who are directly responsible for delivering the court documents to individuals. At first, process service was handled primarily by county sheriffs, but as the burden of serving so many people grew, the use of private process servers was introduced. State laws define who is allowed to serve legal papers in different cases and jurisdictions, with some states requiring the use of licensed process servers.
Serving people with court papers is not always an easy task. Some people may hide to avoid being served, while others have been known to respond aggressively or even violently. Professional process servers have the experience to handle these situations safely and to the letter of the law. When you work with process servers like those at RKJ Investigations & Process, you can rest assured that you’ve met your legal obligations and can prove in court that the person was properly served.
The professional process servers at RKJ Investigations & Process are ready to help when you need to serve papers in your case. We also have the investigative abilities to track down people who may not want to be served. Contact us today at 405-562-6479 to learn more about our process service options.