The Marchman Act is a civil procedure (not criminal). Accordingly, a Respondent has the right to be noticed of any court proceeding and a right to appear. After a Marchman Act Petition is filed and a hearing date set by the Court, the Respondent has the right to know the time, date, allegations and specific location of a hearing. The Respondent can choose not to attend the hearing, but must be noticed properly regardless. A hearing may take place without the Respondent being present, if proper service has been met and is demonstrated to the court. There are two manners of service: (1) service by a law enforcement officer or (2) by private process server. ARLS recommends that the Client pay to have private service of process arranged through ARLS to best coordinate the time and place for the Respondent to be served. A law enforcement officer may simply serve the Respondent at their discretion and outside the control of ARLS. If the officer arrives and the Respondent is not present, service will not be effectuated. This will ultimately result in delaying all legal proceedings. ARLS, through the use of private process service, will coordinate and ensure proper service so there is no delay in achieving your goals.
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