Do Arizona Sheriff’s Posse Members Have Authority to Serve or Execute Legal Process?

ARS §11-441(A)(7) mandates that the duties of the sheriff shall, “Serve process and notices in the manner prescribed by law and certify under the sheriff's hand upon the process or notices the manner and time of service…,” and subsection (D) provides the justification for aid by a posse member.

But statute and ARCP Rule 4(d) does not authorize a civilian, volunteer posse member who is not a (deputy) Sheriff, nor certified by the Superior Court as a Process Server to serve, much less execute legal process. Only the Sheriff or deputy thereof my serve or execute legal process. The posse member is not necessarily a Deputy Sheriff.

One posse member running for the office of local constable stated to me his assumed authority to personally serve legal process was because he was given the papers by his ride along (deputy) partner who waited in the car.

That is not “aiding”, but is “substituting”, and doing so contrary to the rules set forth by the Supreme Court. That would be akin to a process server asking his unqualified passenger to serve legal process while the process server waits in the car. There should be no de facto person “in place and stead of” the (deputy) Sheriff in serving or executing civil process.

Unqualified persons are just that—unqualified.