In this research I explained state of California civil execution practice and it covers mainly procedural issues regarding public auction sales. The study may be summarized as follows. The sheriff serves civil processes in the manner prescribed by law and performs civil enforcement duties with integrity and without prejudice or bias in accordance with local, state, and federal laws and statutes. The sheriff"s role in civil enforcement is that of a neutral party, acting only on a lawful court order. The majority of procedures and laws governing the service and execution of civil process are set forth in the California Code of Civil Procedure.
The sheriff works in conjunction with the civil courts in specific county and civil courts throughout the state of California in the execution and service of process. It is the goal of the "Civil Enforcement Bureau (CEB)" is to serve civil processes in a timely manner while maintaining an impartial position between all parties involved.
All requests for service or levy must include a signed letter of instruction by either the plaintiff or his/her attorney, the appropriate number of copies and the required service fees. There are no fees for the service of restraining orders related to domestic violence, elder abuse, workplace violence and some orders involving civil harassment. Letters of instruction must be complete and include a physical address of where the service is to be made. The CEB does not conduct any investigative tactics such as stakeouts or computer inquiries (DMV, arrest records, etc.) in order to affect service.
Although the sheriff provides a cost effective, credible service and successfully serves most defendants, there are many variables to consider when requesting service. Some of these variables may delay, or in some cases, even prevent successful service. In some cases, the individual the "civil detectives" attempting to serve may evade service or is not available during normal business hours. The sheriff"s normal hours of service are weekdays within business hours. The civil detectives will make a minimum of two attempts on different days, at different times each day. In these cases where the subject is unavailable for service, it may be in the best interest of the party to consider the services of a private process server.
The explanation in this piece only deals with California practice of civil execution. Therefore, all the contents of this papers may not be fit with some other state of U.S. jurisdiction"s situation. I agree those texts are valuable and I completely respect such argument. However, the lesson of this article is the first introduction of U.S. execution system.