Illinois Process Servers Protected Against Physical Attack and Trespassing Charges
- August 24, 2011
- by ServeNow Staff
Process servers in Illinois scored a major legislative victory with the signing of SB1554 and SB2004. The bills address physical attacks on process servers as well as trespassing charges, and they represent an important focus on helping process servers do their jobs effectively. The Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (ILAPPS) has been fighting hard to get these bills passed, and their efforts have finally been rewarded. Here’s a quick look at the new legislation.
State Bill 2004
This bill is aimed at protecting both special process servers appointed by the circuit court, and people authorized to serve process under the Code of Civil Procedure, from physical harm while performing process server duties. It elevates assault and battery charges against process servers to aggravated assault or aggravated battery charges, which constitutes a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
SB2004 makes it a Class 4 felony if a person commits aggravated assault against someone they know to be a process server. If the person commits aggravated battery against a known process server, it will now be classified as a Class 3 felony. The importance of SB2004 became especially apparent after an Illinois process server was nearly choked to death while on duty.
To read more about SB2004, click here.
State Bill 1554
State Bill 1554 adds process servers to the list of people who are exempt from the criminal trespass to real property statute while serving process. This exemption now also applies to persons authorized to serve process under the Code of Civil Procedure and special process servers appointed by the circuit court.
To read more about SB1554, click here.
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