Investigations and process serving for Oklahoma attorneys

What can Daniel do for your case?

Litigation draws on six kinds of work. Daniel Fuller does each one personally, anywhere in Oklahoma.

• Process serving. Papers served under an Oklahoma private process server license, with every attempt logged by date, time and place.
• Witness location and interviews. Witnesses found from lawful records and near the scene, then interviewed if they are willing. Counsel chooses the form a statement takes.
• Civil litigation support. Fact work before suit, research on parties and public records, witnesses, service of process and testimony about the work.
• Criminal defense investigations. Witness interviews, scene documentation and timelines built from records. A private investigator is not law enforcement. Daniel works for the defense, at the direction of defense counsel.
• Surveillance. Observation from public places where activity or damages are at issue, with photographs, video and a time-stamped log.
• Locates and skip tracing. A current address for a party, a witness or a respondent, from lawful records and confirmed in the field. This research is not used for hiring, renting, credit or insurance decisions.

Family law, injury and insurance matters have pages of their own: child custody investigations, personal injury and accidents and insurance and workers' comp investigations. The services page lists all sixteen.

How does an engagement start?

With a call or a text, at any hour. Call, text or book a consultation. The first consultation is free.

Work begins after a written agreement is signed and a retainer is paid. The agreement sets the scope of the work and how time, mileage and database or records fees are billed.

For the first conversation, have ready:

• the caption, or the names of the parties;
• what you need to know, or the papers to be served;
• names, known addresses and descriptions of the people involved;
• the date, time and place of the event, where there is one;
• your court dates and any deadline for service.

Fuller Investigations does not publish rates, and no fee is shown for process serving: call for a quote. The cost guide explains the factors, and how it works sets out each step.

Can Daniel serve process anywhere in Oklahoma?

Yes. Daniel Fuller holds an Oklahoma private process server license. Oklahoma process server licenses are valid statewide.

• Private process servers in Oklahoma are licensed by the presiding judge of a judicial administrative district, and the license is valid statewide. Fees are agreed between the server and the client. 12 O.S. §§ 158.1, 158.2

• If service is not made within 180 days after filing, without good cause, the action is deemed dismissed as to that defendant without prejudice. 12 O.S. § 2004(I)

  Daniel attempts service at different times and places and logs every attempt.

• Service by publication requires a statement that service cannot be made with due diligence by any other method. 12 O.S. § 2004(C)(3)

  Where a respondent is hard to find, Daniel locates the person lawfully and keeps a written record of each step for counsel.

• A licensed process server's return of service is made by affidavit, stating the county of issuance, the person served, and the date, place and method of service. 12 O.S. § 2004(G)(2)

• Any person 18 or older may serve a subpoena. When attendance is demanded, the attendance fee and mileage are tendered with it. 12 O.S. § 2004.1(B)(1)

What will the report look like?

A written report of what was done and what was found, with the source of each fact. Where the work involved field observation, it includes photographs, video and time-stamped logs.

Findings are stated plainly, including when nothing was observed. Oklahoma law bars a licensed private investigator from willfully making a false report to a client (59 O.S. § 1750.8(B)).

Records-only work, such as a locate or background research, produces a written report without field footage. Original photo and video files are preserved.

Two Oklahoma discovery rules bear on witness statements, so counsel decides how each interview is recorded.

• In a civil action, a person may obtain a copy of that person's own previous statement about the action. 12 O.S. § 3226(B)(3)(c)

  Statements are taken knowing the witness can ask for a copy.

• In a criminal case, on the state's request, the defense discloses the witnesses it intends to call, with their relevant written or recorded statements or summaries of oral statements. 22 O.S. § 2002(B)(1)(a)

  In defense work, defense counsel decides what Daniel writes down or records.

Is Daniel available to testify?

Yes. Daniel is available to testify about the work performed and what was observed.

Daniel is the only investigator and handles every matter personally. The person who did the work is the person who wrote the report and can speak to it.

• Oklahoma's evidence code provides for the authentication of photographs, video and documents, including by the testimony of a witness with knowledge. 12 O.S. § 2901

  What a court admits is the court's decision. Fuller Investigations makes no promise about it.

What methods does Daniel use, and what will Daniel not do?

Lawful methods only: observation from public places, public records, licensed databases used for permitted purposes, and interviews with people willing to talk.

• Federal law lets licensed investigative agencies use motor vehicle record information only for permitted purposes, such as litigation and service of process. 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)

• Getting someone's phone records by lying to a phone company is a federal crime. 18 U.S.C. § 1039

• Getting someone's bank information through false statements is a federal crime, with a narrow exception for licensed investigators collecting court-ordered child support. 15 U.S.C. § 6821

  Daniel does not obtain phone or bank records by pretext. Those records are for counsel's subpoenas and discovery.

• Oklahoma's stalking law treats tracking a person's location with a GPS or other monitoring device, without that person's consent, as "following", with narrow exceptions. It covers a person who acts on behalf of another. 21 O.S. § 1173

  Daniel does not place trackers on vehicles.

• In Oklahoma, a person who is part of a conversation may record it, and so may someone who has the prior consent of one participant, unless the recording is made to commit a crime. 13 O.S. § 176.4(5)

  Surveillance reports from Fuller Investigations include photographs and video, not audio of other people's conversations.

• Willfully entering someone's yard, garden, pasture or field after being told not to, or without the owner's permission, is an offense in Oklahoma. The statute has no exception for investigators. 21 O.S. § 1835

• Preventing or attempting to prevent a witness from testifying is a felony in Oklahoma, and bribing a witness is a crime. 21 O.S. §§ 455, 456

  Interviews are voluntary. Daniel makes no promise, gift or payment for a statement.

• A private investigator may not suggest any connection with a government or law enforcement. 59 O.S. § 1750.9(B)

  Daniel Fuller is a licensed private investigator, not a law enforcement officer.

Nothing on this site is legal advice.

Is Daniel licensed?

Yes. Daniel Fuller is licensed by CLEET, the Oklahoma agency that licenses private investigators, and Fuller Investigations holds a CLEET investigative agency license. Daniel also holds a court-issued Oklahoma process server license.

• Oklahoma requires private investigators and investigative agencies to be licensed by CLEET before they operate. 59 O.S. § 1750.4(A)

About Daniel Fuller sets out the licenses and the standards the work is held to.

How is confidentiality handled?

Information from the work is disclosed only as the client directs or as the law requires. Fuller Investigations does not confirm to anyone whether a person or a law office is or was a client.

• A licensed private investigator may not disclose information learned on a case except as the client directs or the law requires. 59 O.S. § 1750.8(B)

Does Fuller Investigations pay or accept referral fees?

No. Fuller Investigations does not pay for referrals and does not accept payment for recommending anyone. Any working relationship with a law office is non-exclusive.

What else do attorneys ask?