From the Desk of Sheriff Christopher M. Clinton 3/31/2011

Many of you are aware that in the last couple of weeks, sheriffs, judges, clerks of court, and commissioners, across our state have opposed House Bill 284, which would allow statewide private process servers to operate with no local oversight.  Last week many of you joined me in contacting Representative Stephen Allison and expressing our concerns.  Representative Allison agreed with us and took a stand against this bill.  One of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Wendell Willard who represents a portion of Fulton County, did not agree with the House deciding not to pursue the issue and wrote a letter addressing this to each member of the House.  Unfortunately, we have learned it is still possible for Mr. Willard’s bill to be passed by being attached to another bill.  Again, this type of legislation would be extremely detrimental to local tax payers.  If passed, this legislation will ultimately have a negative impact on every county in Georgia.

The first major issue with the legislation is a concern for the safety of the public.  I believe that the service of process, or civil papers, should be performed by a trained deputy sheriff, who is an officer of the court.  In many situations, the recipients of these civil processes do not wish to be served.  This can cause them to react unpredictably when approached for process.  Sometimes, the act of serving the paper can escalate a situation into hostility and even violence.  Sworn officers of the court are professionally trained and have the authority to respond to acts of violence, as well as any other criminal activity observed during the service of process, whereas private process servers do not.  The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, through its Civil Process Division, provides ongoing training regarding the complexities of the service of process to deputy sheriffs throughout the state.

Aside from the public safety issue, this legislation is unnecessary because private process servers can be appointed by judges to serve civil papers.  Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4(c), the court can appoint permanent process servers to serve process for any action brought before that court.  As sheriff, I trust the discretion of our judges in deciding when the use of a private process server is appropriate.  Through a judge’s appointment of private process servers, local control and oversight of individuals performing a sensitive court function is appropriately maintained.

County governing authorities will eventually lose millions of dollars in collected revenue if private process servers are allowed to operate statewide.  Sheriffs’ service fees collected by clerks of court and remitted to county governing authorities will not exist where private process servers are allowed to operate.  These revenues are used by the county governing authorities to help offset the cost of services in the county which saves county taxpayers on property taxes.

Finally, passage of HB 284 removes all aspects of local oversight and control over the individuals entering local communities to perform the important function of process service.

I have spoken with our local Probate Judge, Clerk of Court, and Commissioner.  They all agree that this legislation will be detrimental to our county.    We have all contacted Representative Allison, as many of you have.  I will stay in contact with both Representative Allison and Senator Butterworth about this issue.  I have asked that they not support any legislation containing all or parts of HB 284.