What happens if a defendant is not served?
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What happens if a defendant is not served?
If you have not been properly served, and you don’t show up, the court has no personal jurisdiction over you, and can’t enter a judgment against you. The case can be continued to another court date, and the other side can try again to serve you.
How many times will someone try to serve you?
No Limit on Service Attempts The Return of Service sets a deadline by which the defendant or witness must be served. In theory, a process server can attempt to serve the defendant or witness any number of times before the deadline.
What happens if you ignore a certified letter?
It’s not illegal to refuse certified mail. But if the sending party can prove that they made every attempt to send and deliver Certified Mail to you and you refused it, the court may pass judgment that’s in favor of the sender.
Why would someone send you a certified letter?
People commonly receive certified mail from attorneys, the IRS, debtors, for jury duty, etc. Due to the security of this type of mail, it is a great way to send legal documents. The court can use these certified tracking receipts as evidence in court proceedings.
What should I do if I don’t want to testify?
If a witness in a criminal case refuses to testify, he or she could be found in contempt of court (Penal Code 166 PC). Being found in contempt of court can result in jail time and/or a fine. But the victim/witness could still be held in contempt and fined per CCP1219.
