Job Description
Bailiffs are called upon by lawyers and other clients to perform work in 4 areas: delivering legal documents, executing court judgements, writing certified reports and recovering money owed.
Bailiffs often work in a shared bailiff’s office. They leave the office during the work day to do the different parts of their job, which makes sense, since they need to travel around the city to deliver documents, visit buildings and get people to obey court judgements. Bailiffs often need a driver’s and a car sine they have to cover a lot of ground each day.
Delivering Legal Documents
Bailiffs are hired by lawyers and other clients to deliver copies of legal documents. For example, a bailiff can deliver a subpoena, which is a legal document requiring someone to testify as a witness in court.
People use bailiffs to deliver legal documents because it’s the best and most official way to prove to the court that the documents were delivered and received by the person who was supposed to get them. This prevents people from claiming that they didn’t know about a lawsuit because they never received the legal document mailed to them.
Ideally, the bailiff delivers documents directly to the person to whom they are addressed, but the documents can also be left with someone who lives at the same address, or at a person’s workplace, and the court will consider this proper delivery. The documents must be in a sealed envelope to protect confidentiality.
People use bailiffs to deliver legal documents because it’s the best and most official way to prove to the court that the documents were delivered and received by the person who was supposed to get them. This prevents people from claiming that they didn’t know about a lawsuit because they never received the legal document mailed to them.
Ideally, the bailiff delivers documents directly to the person to whom they are addressed, but the documents can also be left with someone who lives at the same address, or at a person’s workplace, and the court will consider this proper delivery. The documents must be in a sealed envelope to protect confidentiality.
Executing Court Judgements
When a judge decides a case, it is the bailiff’s job to make sure the judgment is respected. Bailiffs “execute” judgements to force people to follow what has been ordered by the court. For example, a judgment might order one person to pay money. If a person refuses, it is up to the bailiff to collect the money. If the person does not have the money, then the bailiff has to take some of his property and sell it to pay the debt. Bailiffs can take away your car, jewellery and big-screen TV!
A bailiff can also be hired to remove people from an apartment if they refuse to pay their rent. If required by a court judgment, bailiffs will even lock down a car with clamps so it can’t be driven. They basically do what is needed to execute a judgment. It’s their role to make uncooperative people respect the law!
A bailiff can also be hired to remove people from an apartment if they refuse to pay their rent. If required by a court judgment, bailiffs will even lock down a car with clamps so it can’t be driven. They basically do what is needed to execute a judgment. It’s their role to make uncooperative people respect the law!
Writing Bailiff Certified Reports
Bailiffs are sometimes asked to write “certified reports”. To write these reports, a bailiff visits a place and observes what is happening, or takes notes on what a place looks like. For example, a bailiff might be asked to report on whether neighbours are making too much noise, whether an apartment is falling apart, whether a spouse has moved out of a house and left all of the furniture but taken the prized chandelier that came with the house. These are just a few of the many things a bailiff might be asked to look into.
A bailiff’s certified report can be used as proof during a hearing. Bailiffs must remain neutral and fair to both parties because their reports are relied upon as evidence in court.
A bailiff’s certified report can be used as proof during a hearing. Bailiffs must remain neutral and fair to both parties because their reports are relied upon as evidence in court.
Collecting Money
Where do bailiffs work?
In some cases, a person may be owed money by someone else, and she may want to claim this money without going to court. The person could hire a bailiff to collect the money if it is difficult for her to do this on her own.The bailiff goes directly to the person who owes the money and tries to get that person to pay.
Bailiffs often work in a shared bailiff’s office. They leave the office during the work day to do the different parts of their job, which makes sense, since they need to travel around the city to deliver documents, visit buildings and get people to obey court judgements. Bailiffs often need a driver’s and a car sine they have to cover a lot of ground each day.
