The Evolution of Process Serving: Medieval England to Modern America
Since the inception of the Magna Carta in 1215, due process, and by association process serving, has played a vital role in the legal system, ensuring individuals are informed of legal actions against them. This notification requirement is core to the principle of due process, and helps ensure the fairness of judicial proceedings all over the U.S. Here in central Florida, Accurate Serve®’s process servers still uphold these core values, ensuring that our services in Marion, Lake, Hernando, Sumter, and Citrus counties always meet the highest standards.
Tracing the Roots
The first mentions of what we now know as process serving were in medieval England, where bailiffs, who were appointed by courts or sheriffs, were responsible for delivering legal documents. In early America, colonists continued this method of delivering legal documents. However, it was quickly realized that issues with officials, such as delays or biases, made expanding process serving tasks to private citizens necessary. These civilian messengers were called privateers, and are the beginnings of the modern process server.
Evolving Best Practices and Regulations
Over time, process serving has witnessed numerous regulatory changes and the development of best practices. In the past, if the process server could not locate the person named in the process, they may just post a copy of the process to the person’s door or even post it in a public square. Today, we focus much more on properly identifying process recipients and ensuring their privacy is upheld, so the methods of service have evolved. In addition to in-person service, process can now be served via alternative means like substitution, publication, mail, or even electronically in some cases.
Process servers also commonly use electronic tracking tools like GPS to provide an extra layer of proof, transparency, and accountability on top of their sworn statement of proof. Furthermore, process servers in Florida are governed by stricter state and local regulations than they were in the past, mandating ethical conduct and adherence with standardized procedures.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Process Serving
Technological innovations and regulatory environments will continue to shape the world of process serving. Despite these changes, the fundamental role of process serving in the legal system remains unchanged – to provide individuals and businesses timely and proper notice of legal actions made against them, to allow them time to answer and to prepare their defense. This helps ensure no person is deprived of their rights or property due to unfair legal proceedings. The methods of communication may look different today, and we can’t even imagine what they’ll look like 100 years from now, but at Accurate Serve, we’re ready to embrace and adapt to whatever the changing landscape brings.
For professional, reliable process serving, document retrieval, skip tracing, and diligent searches in central Florida, trust Accurate Serve. To get started, submit a work request online or call us at:
Ocala – (352) 282-0844
Clermont – (352) 227-4217
Inverness – (352) 270-3212
Spring Hill – (352) 608-3001
The Villages – (352) 561-3024