Notary Public & Legal Support Network Blog

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Convicted Felons acting as Process Servers

A NON-MEMBER OF THE NETWORK ASKS: You declined to accept me as a [Process Server] member of your network because I was convicted of a felony three years ago. Why can't I serve as a Process Server?


ANSWER: A Process Server is someone, authorized by law and court rules, who serves various types of legal process usually issued by a court of law, or an official authorized by court authority to issue process on behalf of the court (i.e.: justice of the peace, notary public).

In accordance with the law, a Process Server has to be a person of high standing and character. In fact, in Massachusetts, an experienced person can be appointed as a Special Process Server under a "4(c) Motion" {Mass.R.Civ.P. 4(c) }. A "4(c) Motion" is a litigants written request (motion) to appoint a special process server for service of process in a specific case. The person asking (motioning) the court to appoint a special process server is swearing, under penalties of perjury, that the person he/she wants appointed to serve process is (1) credible, (2) honest, and (3) of high standing and character. Obviously if a person has been convicted of a felony less then 10 years ago, that person is presumed to be dishonest and non-credible in a court of law.

Can a covicted felon become a police officer or constable? The answer is no!

Hypothetically, lets say a convicted felon is going around pretending to be a credible process server. The "wannabe process server" hides the fact that he is a convict from lawyers and members of the public and serves court process. Then, in one case, the opposing party(ies) investigates the case against him/her. They decide to check every aspect, including the technicalities involved with service of process. (Attorneys for litigants check nearly 95% of the time)

They obtain the paperwork that was legally served and look up the process server's name. Next, they do a simple background check on the process server by looking through old court records. Shockingly, they learn that the process server is a convicted felon who has been incarcerated in the past. Additionally, they learn that the person who served them has an extensive criminal record. What do you think is going to happen?

The opposing party(ies) would motion the court and contest service of process. Who do you think will win? The convict who is impersonating a credible court process server? Or the opposing party?

There have been cases where judges have permanently banned a person from acting as a process server. In fact, go here to review one such case:

http://www.ips-notary.com/2009/04/ag-obtains-judgment-against-process.html



IN CONCLUSION, if you are a convict, don't go around pretending to be a credible process server. One day your credibility will be questioned and your convict status will be exposed! You'll find yourself in a lot of hot water civilly, as well as criminally!

.

posted by Korey -Founder- at 11:59 AM

33 Comments:

  • Eek that is not good!! How scary!

    By Anonymous online notary classes, At April 13, 2010 at 7:34 PM  

  • First and foremost I think that the convicted felon rate is rising in this country and this is discrimination. If this person was convicted of a felony three yeas ago and did not commit any other offenses within that time, he or she should be able to assume any employment position that he or she wants. If the individual presents him or herself in an honest fashion and discloses that he/ she committed a crime and was convicted and you (the employer) conducted a backgroeund check and no other crimes were committed since the initial conviction than what gives you the right to judge that individual's charater? What type of person are you? What do you have in your closet? Many of our upstanding police officers and public officials are committing crimes on a daily basis and because they are in a position to pay to have their criminal acts swept under the rug they are presumed honest and trustworthy. This sickens me to know that we as Americans are allowing this type of discrimination to occur on our doorsteps. You wouldn't understand what I am talking about or how I feel until you are a very dear friend or family member has been convicted of a felon and denied the right to work and support yourself and your family.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At June 6, 2010 at 7:09 PM  

  • I completely disagree with just about everything in this post. Is anyone still reading this one?

    Tod Pendergrass
    Austin, Texas

    By Blogger Tod E. Pendergrass, At August 23, 2010 at 3:22 PM  

  • After reading all that bs ... smdh ... all i can say is "the dumbest rule of Law is 'Ignorance is No Excuse' the Courtrooms are filled with Actors who's sole intentions are to mislead and deprive the public! Whenever the Law don't side with the Prosecution the Court changes the rules, and if no law exist, the Court creates one to ensure victory for the prosecution. Take for example:The Virtual Child Porn case ... where the man created the digital image of a child and sold that image to the pedophiles over the internet (see 18 U.S.C. § 2256 [8b](2008). The Court found that "No actual child was involved" but it was a "CREATED IMAGE" and while no law existed that man is in prison! Basically implying that if no law exist we will create one and therefore resulting in "Ignorance of the law" having no weight! And it sickens me because if the Law was so important and the Court wasn't a Finical Scam, why not teach the Law at the Grade School level like they do Religion? I mean everybody in America knows about Jesus, but not 1 percent know about Treason; everybody know about the drugs epidemic, but don't nobody know what Racketeering is ... lol! Again, i mean ... cut all them bs Judge Judy & Joe Browns off the air and start airing the latest Court Opinions or the State Criminal and Civil Statutes so the people are informed abroad - instead of allowing them to make a mockery of Blind Lady Justice!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At November 22, 2010 at 4:15 AM  

  • You know our judicial system is corrupt and innocent people are in jail. Not to say that there are not a lot of bad people as well. I went to prison for something my husband did! I had no idea what he was doing, I worked a lot. But we have a lot of children and I could not afford an attorney.

    I think they just wanted a conviction because if I would of lost at trial they would give me 6 years, if I took the plea I would do less than a year w/ half time. I was too afraid of being away from my kids that long. I took the deal and did 4mo. Too big of a risk not to the way the judicial system is!

    Now I am having to start all over and its rough. Im getting a divorce and have all the kids to take care of on my own.

    So if you do your time, you should be allowed to reenter like you are brand new unless you are a habitual criminal.

    I understand the fear from letting a covicted felon get their notary but not everyone is the same and their should be exceptions.

    Karla

    By Blogger Karla, At March 19, 2012 at 1:24 PM  

  • I completely agree. I know a police officer and others who are dirty cops ..so forth and so on...and I know people who have been convicted of a felony charged and either it was wrong place wrong time...or they were being young and dumb..received a felony and have never done unjustfully again...or before that...

    By Blogger Priceless, At September 3, 2012 at 4:52 AM  

  • I am a felon and I am a process server. I have to agree with anonymous. I am a known felon by my employers and considered VERY credible by every judge I have been before and ever contested serve. I am active in the law enforcement community. I think for your benefit you should delete this post, it is VERY offensive. Just because someone is a felon, and made a mistake or two does not automatically mean they are not credible. You are coming off as a bigot posting this. People change.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At November 11, 2012 at 12:21 PM  

  • I know a felon who acts as a process server. Just set up the business in a family member's name, but do the work yourself. That's what she does. Seems to work in Texas. No one knows.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At June 18, 2013 at 9:41 PM  

  • It varies by state. In Michigan you can be a process server, bounty hunter, body guard, etc with a felony.

    I should know. I had a felony and even become a lawyer in Michigan.

    Trust me, you don't know even half of what you THINK you know.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At November 26, 2013 at 7:19 PM  

  • OK, let's forget public opinion for just one moment. The highest court in the country, The United States Supreme Court, wrote Rules 4 & 45 of the FRCP. They think felons can serve process. So if you disagree with that, then you disagree with the highest court in the land. How can this be? It's because felon or not, there is no infraction a private process server can commit that is not already addressed by existing laws.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 27, 2014 at 9:28 AM  

  • I was convicted of a felony in 2003 for possession, in the process servers rules, it say the felony or misdemeanor can cannot be a moral turpitude conviction.

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    By Anonymous Anonymous, At December 21, 2016 at 7:31 PM  

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    By Blogger EvaAndersen, At April 21, 2017 at 3:54 AM  

  • How long do they go back? My wife was convicted of a felony 25 years ago. Will she make the cut in Texas?

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    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 24, 2019 at 12:37 PM  

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  • To assume that would with felony records are dishonest, unreliable and of low moral character if ores the fact that a bad act does not make someone a bad person. We as a society can not say that a person convicted of a crime is of low moral character or is, automatically, dishonest by virtue of having been convicted of a crime because it ignores the fact that people change. It also ignores the fact that all to often the people we see as honest, upstanding and of high moral character (police, corrections, politicians and court staff) commit some very immoral acts over the course of their careers. Statistics show that people who spent a period of time behind bars are more prone to honest work and are engaged in ensuring moral conduct and professionalism because they feel a need to be better than who they were. Stop discriminating and stop casting stones!! The most vocal anti-people-with-criminal-records individual tends to have so much they want to hide from the public.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At November 27, 2021 at 11:51 AM  

  • Can a person with A 40 yr old c felony and 50 yr old C felony be a process server?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 24, 2022 at 6:14 PM  

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    By Anonymous Anonymous, At June 28, 2023 at 12:33 AM  

  • This article is over the top misleading and FALSE. We can take Michigan as a great reference, the Law reads "Process in civil actions may be served by any legally competent adult who is not a party or an officer of a corporate party." ( https://casetext.com/rule/michigan-court-rules/michigan-court-rules/chapter-2-civil-procedure/subchapter-2100-commencement-of-action-service-of-process-pleadings-motions/rule-2103-process-who-may-serve ), thereby clear in language alone and the legislature intent that anyone can server process. As a population we have to stop lying to each other, this is why America is on her down fall now because folks are not honest anymore.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At May 6, 2024 at 8:04 PM  

  • This article is biased, discriminative and factually inaccurate. You only show your "elitist" mindset and disregard for those who found themselves on the wrong side of the law one time and on a technicality. This article is going to come back to bite you, mark my words. You think you're better than everyone else until you wrack up a felony for fraud or embezzlement or something of moral turpitude and then what? You'll be advocating for "first time offenders to be given a second chance"

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 18, 2024 at 12:58 AM  

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