Imagine a stranger walking up to your front door or coming to your office with legal documents that he or she must give you in person. When this occurs, you are being served legal process. You could feel upset and could feel like you're being stalked, but it's important to remember that you have a constitutional right to these documents as part of the due process guarantee. Whether these documents are about civil or criminal matters or issues large or small, you need to read them carefully.
We want to go over some of the types of legal filings you can be served in a little more detail in our hopes of easing your fears.
It's ideal if your process serving is not a surprise and comes from the hands of a professional constable like those at business law payson ut. These people are usually hired by the prosecutors or the party filing suit, and they have to give the people paying them professional, legal and prompt service. They should give you what the law requires, too: the same prompt process service, no illegal intimidation and lawful delivery.
Let's go over the major categories of legal filings you might receive from a constable:
Summons: Whether civil or criminal, a summons is a call for you to show up before a judge or administrative court. These should always give a date and time on which to appear. If you don't show up, you can either lose the case immediately or face contempt charges.
Subpoenas: These fall under separate rules from complaints and generally have to be signed off on by a court clerk. They are a type of summons, but they mean you have to appear as a witness, require you to present documents such as tangible items, records, books or papers or make you attend a deposition. These are often served between attorneys rather than to you personally, but not responding can mean contempt charges or a loss of your case.
Small Claims Summons: Cases in which the amount of money at issue is small generally come from small claims court, and they can be classified as complaints in most cases. These generally force you to pay the debt or to appear before the court. If you don't respond, you will almost certainly have a credit judgment against you.
Petitions: This kind legal filing initiates a case, but asks for non-monetary or equitable relief These can also be given in court cases such as those regarding child custody and probate.
Indictments: These criminal filings are served after a grand jury , which meets without a judge, gathers to consider a potential criminal case against you. A grand jury, like a regular jury, is made up of fellow voters but the proceedings aresecret. This special jury meets to decide whether the prosecutor has enough evidence to charge you with a major. Without one of these decisions, the most serious cannot be argued before a judge. These documents will be handed to you or your lawyer.
Complaints: A complaint is a kind of court filing, usually civil, and is the first filed in a case. If you are handed one of these, it means you are the defendant in a lawsuit. Criminal complaints are more severe than tickets or citations but often less serious than indictments.
Civil Summons: This legal call to court comes with a specific time and date when you should go to court. It is separate from a simple document informing you of the case.
Citation: These are a particular type of summons given, generally, by police officers, so aren't really in the category of process serving. Common citations, including traffic tickets, generally require that you go before a judge by a specified date. Signing one of these is not saying you're guilty but, instead, a pledge that you will show up. Failure to do so can mean immediate findings of guilt and exponential fines.
Administrative Summons: These are sent by the Internal Revenue Service and are part of the process of making sure everyone gives their fair share according to the tax laws. These documents require the person being served appear before a tax examiner and provide verifying documents. This is usually the ultimate step in an IRS investigation after agents have tried to get the money in other ways.
At least two U.S. Constitutional Amendments guarantee the right to due process. Many other countries also protect the right for due process and have process serving requirements. If you are suing, it's vital to your case to get process documents served properly to your opponent. If you are on the other side, it's just as vital to read the filing's orders or you could be charged with contempt. Process serving may be an intimidating and unpleasant experience, but it's very important under our system of governance.