September 24, 1987 

Don Holloway 
Pennington County Sheriff
300 Kansas City Street
Rapid City, S.D. 57701-2889 

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 87-32

Contractual service of civil process

Dear Sheriff Holloway: 

You have requested an official opinion from this office based upon the following factual information: 

FACTS:

The Pennington County Commissioners are exploring the possibility of contracting to a private individual the service of summonses, complaints, writs, notices, executions, subpoenas, and other civil processes which are presently being served by the Pennington County Sheriffs office, not only for the County of Pennington, but also for citizens of Pennington County and others.  

Based upon these facts, you have asked the following questions: 

QUESTIONS:

1.   Can a county contract out to a private individual the service of civil process for itself and its citizens?

2.   Does a citizen have the right, regardless of any contracts that a county may have, to demand and expect the sheriff to serve or attempt to serve all civil processes they bring into the sheriffs office for service? 

IN RE QUESTION NO. l 

In reviewing the powers granted to counties, SDCL 7-8-20, there is no authority for a county to enter into a contract similar to that suggested in your opinion request.  Further, in reviewing the statutes dealing with sheriffs and constables as they apply to the service of the various civil processes you set out in your opinion request, only sheriffs or constables have the statutory authority to serve many of those civil processes.  There is no provision for the delegation of these powers to any other individuals or groups, by contract or otherwise.  Therefore, it is my opinion, concerning your first question, that NO, a county cannot contract out to a private individual the service of civil process for itself and its citizens. 

Given my answer to your first question, I believe it is unnecessary to address your second question. 

Sincerely,

Roger A. Tellinghuisen
ATTORNEY GENERAL