Robin's Ruminations

Ruminating about the future always makes me think of Johnny Carson's routine where he would put on a turban and take on the role of The Great Karnak.  Holding an envelope to his forehead he would entertain us all by reading its contents without opening it.  So here I sit, turban and all, with an envelope pressed to my forehead.

E-service exists and its use will increase over time.  However, for the reasons discussed in my previous post, I think the rate of increase is slow and will remain slow in the foreseeable future.  This means, in the near term, e-service will be used as an alternative form of service similar to snail mail, publication, or posting.  From that it follows that the impact of e-service on the average process server will be minimal.  In the near term.

But what factors could influence the rate of acceptance of e-service by the courts?

Cost is certainly an issue and our current hard economic times could play a role.  As in almost every other industry, technological advances in process serving will push costs down.  If e-service were fully implemented as a cost cutting measure (totally disregarding all other factors) the price of a service could be pushed down to levels not seen in decades.  Perhaps a dollar or less.  

Technology itself will play a role.  We are advancing at an incredible rate.  There are things happening in labs around the world which truly push the limits of our imaginations.  Suppose for instance, (and this is really off the wall and yet.......) we didn't carry our computers and phones around in our hands but, instead, they were imbedded in our bodies.  As radical as it may sound this is not that far outside the realm of possibility!  Could there be any question then as to whether or not a defendant received notice of a law suit if the notice was sent to the system built into his body?!

Our behavior will play an important and perhaps deciding role.  As discussed on this blog and on many others, the situation in New York was horrific and did an inestimable amount of damage to our reputation.  And, unfortunately, such activities have happened elsewhere and continue to happen to this day.  In my very strong opinion, if there is one thing which will push our legislators and courts in the direction of e-service it is our own misbehavior.  

More in Part 4.