Peter J. Koutoujian
Middlesex Sheriff
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Announcements
Middlesex Sheriff's Office launches it's Civil Process Division website
where lawyers, and individuals representing themselves, can find answers to their process
serving questions
In 2008 our deputies and officers served more than 60,000 papers -
almost 10,000 more than previous years. Changes and improvements to our office have
made this possible.
On the Horizon..
Legal Events sponsored by Civil Process Division.
In the field: Technology Advancements.
Webiste: Enhanced secure feature to check the status of papers online.
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Meet Our Team of Experienced Professionals!
View our video
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In 1783, shortly after the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and constables were given the duties of serving civil process in Massachusetts. These enactments were among the earliest statutes of the newly emerging sovereign Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Business for civil process officers remained basically the same throughout the World War II era. In the 1950’s deputy sheriffs began to pool their work, hire office staffs and form centralized office spaces to be able to more efficiently serve the citizens of Massachusetts. This model became especially prominent in Middlesex County, where the service of court papers developed into a full time business.
In Middlesex County three such “businesses” arose: Cambridge, Framingham and Lowell. The three areas split business sent to the sheriff’s office, defining their own geographic regions.
All across Massachusetts, as the years went by, small entities similar to the ones in Middlesex County began to expand and slowly break away from their law enforcement supervisors. When this happened, government oversight and regulation fell by the wayside.
In 1996 Middlesex County elected a new Sheriff and with him came a resurrection and renewing of the civil process division. Sheriff James V. DiPaola abandoned the for-profit, privately-owned model that had been running without oversight. Through new technology and innovative, safe and tax-payer friendly methods the old process was replaced with the new in-house setup currently in use.
The modernization of the Civil Process Division was actually a nod to the traditional method of serving papers; one in which deputy sheriffs – trained, knowledgeable and compassionate for those involved – work tirelessly to uphold the basic tenets of American law. Since 1996 millions of papers have been served by Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Civil Deputies and they are proud to be part of this storied and historical law enforcement institution.
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