Who must civil warrants be served on?

• A. The named defendant
• B. The plaintiff
• C. The attorney
• D. The clerk of court

Answer: (A)

Notice to the person being sued is the key idea here: service of civil warrants is how the court informs the party who is the defendant that a case has been filed against them and that they must respond. Because due process requires actual notice, the warrant must be served on the named defendant—the individual or entity the action targets. Serving the plaintiff wouldn’t inform the defendant and wouldn’t satisfy notice requirements. The clerk of court handles filing and records, not delivering notice to the defendant. The attorney on record may sometimes accept service on behalf of the client, but the standard rule is to serve the named defendant to ensure they are aware of and can respond to the action. Therefore, the correct recipient is the named defendant.