Civil Process Services
About Civil Process
The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office
 Civil
Process Division is a professional agency whose responsibility
is the delivery of legal services and the enforcement of civil
orders directed from the County Court System. Our Civil Process
Office is responsible for executing court orders and the
delivery of legal documents essential to the proceedings of
state-wide and county civil cases. These legal documents include summonses, divorce papers, levy on real estate, levy on
personal property, supplementary process, summary
process/evictions, garnishments and writ of attachments.
The Civil Process Office also enforces judgments made by the
court which include but are not limited to seizing property and
selling property through a Sheriff’s Sale, garnishing wages, and
facilitating Capias arrests. Our Business Office staff and Deputy
Sheriff’s are committed to a high standard of excellence and
work each and every day to improve both our delivery of service
and our communication with our clients and the public we serve.
We understand the importance of achieving court related
deadlines and we are proficient in the application of enforcing
civil actions.
According to Massachusetts General Law c.37, sections 11&12,
the High Sheriff of the County is mandated to serve civil
process. MGL c.37, section 3 empowers the Sheriff to appoint
Deputy Sheriff’s to perform official acts of process. In
Massachusetts, as in most states, the service of process is
carried out by the Sheriff, through deputies, as public ministerial offices to the judicial branch.
Appointed Deputy Sheriffs are trained to properly deliver
important court and non-court documents and are held to the same
high standards as any law enforcement official.
Here at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, we are
constantly looking for ways to improve our civil process
operations. In 1996, the Civil Process Office became a fully
accountable public agency under the direction of the Sheriff, an
agency that has always been fully dedicated to serving its
county, and a valuable part of the public safety community.
List of Services & Instructions
|
Service |
Notes /
Instructions |
|
Summons and
Complaint
|
Mail or deliver the original summons
with the court seal and complaint to the Norfolk County
Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Office and kindly
include one copy of each document. Also include any
other documents that accompany the summons and
complaint. The original will be forwarded back to you
with the return of service affixed. You will be
responsible to return the original to the court in a
timely fashion. |
|
Judgment Debtor
Summons
|
Mail or deliver the original Judgment
Debtor Summons to the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office,
Civil Process Office and kindly include one copy of this
document. The original will be forwarded back to you
with the return of service affixed. You will be
responsible to return the original to the court in a
timely fashion. |
|
Writ of
Attachment
|
Mail or deliver the original Writ of
Attachment to the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office, Civil
Process Office. You must indicate whether the Writ
should be recorded on the Unregistered or
Registered/Land Court side of the Norfolk County
Registry of Deeds. You must also state which type of
recording you would like for:
Unregistered:
- General – any and all
property located in the County of Norfolk
- General with Parcel – any and
all property located in the County of Norfolk
including but not limited to property located at a
specific physical address or book & page
- Specific – property located
at a specific physical address and/or book & page
Registered/Land Court:
- Always requires Certificate
Number, Book and Page
- The original Writ of
Attachment will be forward back to you at completion
of recording with the appropriate return of service.
|
|
Levy on
Personal Property
|
Because of the unique characteristics
of each legal service, please contact the NCSO Civil Process Office
at 781-326-1787 regarding information and fees for these service. |
|
Notice to Show
Cause
|
Mail or deliver the original Notice
to Show Cause to the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office,
Civil Process Office and kindly include one copy of this
document. The original will be forwarded back to you
with the return of service affixed. You will be
responsible to return the original to the court in a
timely fashion. |
|
Notice to Quit
/ Evictions
|
Because of the unique characteristics
of each legal service, please contact the NCSO Civil Process Office
at 781-326-1787 regarding information and fees for these service. |
|
Probate
Citation
|
Because of the unique characteristics
of each legal service, please contact the NCSO Civil Process Office
at 781-326-1787 regarding information and fees for these service. |
|
Witness
Subpoena
|
Please contact the Norfolk County
Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Office for information
and fees regarding this service. |
|
Capias and
Arrest Capias
|
Please mail or deliver the original
capias to our office. Within five days of our
office receiving a capias from an attorney, a deputy
sheriff will mail a Contempt of Court notice, specifying
the court, the hearing date, and the jacket number for
the particular case. Within five days of this
initial mailing, the first attempt at telephone contact
will be made. The deputy will contact the
defendant by telephone or leave a message communicating
the nature of the complaint and the importance of
showing up to the hearing.
If the defendant fails to show up at the first hearing,
a new hearing date will be set. A second mailing
will be issued, restating the nature of the case, the
hearing date, the court, and the importance of their
appearance. A second phone call will also be
placed.
If the defendant fails once again
to show up at their hearing, a third and final notice
will be issued and mailed. They will be informed
that it is the third Contempt of Court notice issued.
The deputy will phone a final time, and make an attempt
to visit the premises, if possible, to get the defendant
into court.
Arrest
Capias
If these
three mailings and phone calls should fail, the
plaintiff has the option of filing a capias for physical
arrest. For a ProSe, this fee is $500, for an
attorney it is $300. A physical arrest will be
scheduled with the attorney for the defendant in
question. |
|
Levy on Real
Estate |
Mail or deliver the original
Execution on Money Judgment with copy of metes & bounds
description of property from the deed to the Norfolk
County Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Office. You must
indicate whether or not you have recorded a Writ of
Attachment in this matter and if so indicate the
recording information of such.
Please indicate if you wish this
to be a Levy & Suspend or a Levy & Sale. If a Levy &
Sale is requested you must call the Norfolk County
Sheriff's Office, Civil Process Office for more
information.
The original Execution on Money Judgment will be forward
back to you at completion of recording with the
appropriate return of service. |
|
Probate
Summones: Divorce, Modification, etc. |
The Probate Court issues Summones
with complaints for Divorce, Modification, Contempt,
Paternity, Support, Visitation and other probate
matters. These services require immediate attention
please contact the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office Civil
Process Office for more information. |
|
Order of Notice |
The Order of Notice is more often
than not issued by Land Court. This document must be
served 14 days prior to the hearing date. Please contact
the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office Civil Process Office
to discuss appropriate service details. |
|
Supplementary
Process/Summons to Judgment Debtor |
This paperwork may also be called
“Notice to Show Cause” depending one the issuing court
and route of action. You
will need to forward the original document to the Civil
Process Office with one copy for service. This document
must be served within 7 days of the hearing date. After
service you will be forward the original and the
appropriate return of service to return to the court.
|
|
