When handling legal matters or investigations, individuals needed to testify or provide physical evidence can be difficult to locate or uncooperative. A process server can ensure that a subpoena is served in a timely and legal fashion.
A subpoena is a legal document that orders an individual to testify for an investigation or legal proceeding at a specific date and time. A subpoena can be a summons for a person to provide testimony at a trial, testify during the early stages of an investigation, or provide physical evidence relevant to the case.
Legal professionals can prepare a subpoena in accordance with your state's laws, and your local county court will have the appropriate paperwork (a subpoena duces tecum) to complete. To prepare a subpoena, you should know what evidence/documents you want to use in a court of law, and who has them in their possession. Once the appropriate subpoena duces tecum paperwork is complete, submit the forms to a court clerk for approval. While keeping one copy of the official subpoena from the court clerk for your own records, hire a professional process server to serve the subpoena to the intended individual.
As part of the legal process, the person must be notified that they are required to testify. As a party to the case, you and your family members are prohibited from serving the papers, so you can turn to a process server to deliver the subpoena.
The rules of service vary from state to state, although in many states anyone over the age of 18 who is not associated with the case may serve the subpoena. It is a good idea to hire a professional process server, however, to ensure service is done quickly, accurately, and in accordance with state and federal laws. This person can serve the subpoena by hand delivery, e-mail (with receipt of acknowledgment requested), mail to the recipient’s address with return receipt requested, or by reading it aloud to the receiving party.
Hiring a professional process server to serve your subpoena has several advantages, including:
Due to the nature of investigative, and often time-sensitive cases, turning to a process server is the fastest, easiest, and sometimes safest way to get your subpoena served.
ServeNow.com is a trusted network of local, pre-screened process servers. To find a professional process server on ServeNow.com, please do a search for a city or zip code or call (877) 737-8366.
Since a subpoena is a legal request for evidence, you will need to produce the evidence or documents by the provided deadline. Do not destroy or tamper with the evidence. If you do not want to produce evidence for fear of incriminating yourself, you should contact a lawyer for legal assistance.
If you are considering denying or delaying producing evidence under subpoena, we recommend contacting a lawyer for legal advice.
The Lawgical Promise guarantees our members are pre-screened to verify their qualifications.
