In a criminal case, what must the file show before the court may serve the accused by public notice rather than a direct method?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the court's record of the steps taken to find the accused's residence, office and current whereabouts, such as replies from agencies asked about the accused's address, and any application or note describing where the accused was thought to be and why ordinary delivery failed there.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading sets out both grounds: the court may serve by public notice where the accused's residence, office or current whereabouts cannot be known, and likewise where the accused is in a place the court's jurisdiction does not reach and no other method of service is possible, the second ground requiring both that territorial fact and the failure of alternatives.
Another reading notes that the provision does not say how many searches or which agencies must be asked before whereabouts count as not known, nor which other methods must be tried in the out-of-jurisdiction case, so the file has to show what was actually done rather than a fixed checklist.
Your judgment
When whereabouts are recorded as not known, what in the file would let a court judge whether enough was done to find them?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to prescribe the search steps or the methods that must fail first, or if a court decision sets a standard for when whereabouts count as not known.