23. How do I serve a document?

In the case of a forfeiture suit, you can serve a document on the State by hand-delivering a copy of the document, mailing it, faxing it, or emailing it to the State's attorney. If there are other parties named or listed in the suit as interest holders, besides you, you should also serve those parties or their legal representative, if they have an attorney. You can serve a document on another party by hand-delivering a copy of the document, mailing it, faxing it, or emailing it to that party's attorney. If the party does not have an attorney, you serve it directly on that party. Other parties to the suit will be listed on the "Certificate of Service" for the Petition.

In an asset forfeiture case, the State will first need to file its petition with the court and then serve it on you, as well as on any other interested parties who must receive notice of the seizure, before the lawsuit can move forward. When you file your Answer to the State’s petition, you will also need to serve it on the State and any other interested parties listed in the lawsuit. A court clerk should be able to provide more information about where and how to serve the State and any other parties.
 

In our example, Steve will mail his Answer to the York County District Attorney, who represents the State in his case.