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Rumor has it the City of New York is placing some stringent new requirements on process servers doing business there. Given recent history I can understand why but the word "overkill" might be appropriate.
NYC is proposing to require all process servers to carry GPS devices that will log their location on a regular basis. The logs will then be made available, though I haven't heard to whom. A city department? Most likely. The general public? It wouldn't surprise me.
The truly sad thing is that we've done this to ourselves. I heard someone describe the situation recently by saying "Service of process has become a commodity" and "The big companies have investors who are expecting a return and demand efficiencies in the systems."
A commodity - Is that all it is we do? Harvest a commodity? Have we lost sight of the 5th and 14th amendments? Have we forgotten how basic our job is to the very bedrock of our society?
It appears we have. And the results are beginning to make themselves evident. As some of us attempt to fill those demands for efficiency corners will be cut. Some, who can't reach the level of business they want by honest means, will do as was done in New York, they'll commit crimes such as perjury and forgery.
But beware the backlash. GPS trackers are only the start. We're making our own bed - at some point we'll have to sleep in it.
Robin Mullins February 20th, 2010 12:22:40 PM
Robin:
You may also add the 4th Amendment too: Interdiction of unreasonable searches and seizures.
I agree that process servers see this business as the sale of a commodity. We sell, among other things, a proof of service, the facilitation of the court's process, and, an intangible, "peace of mind" to a client who must rely on that effort.
Unfortunately, I feel our industry has lost sight of (assuming we EVER had sight of) the fact that what we do by signing a proof of service, and filing it with a court, creates evidence that the court, the parties, and the public can rely.
When our process servers lie, and the owners of process servers are dismissive about the rules, and acquiesce to improprieties, it cheapens our integrity and affects the public's perception of the efforts of all of us.
The NYC effort to require GPS devices is an personal affront to me, however it demonstrates how little trust public officials have in our industry. Signing a proof or affidavit is no longer trustworthy - a process server must now also further prove their activity with an electronic device! What's next - an ankle bracelet?
Tony Klein